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sinkix · 4 years

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《What your fav Haikyuu!! Character says about you│Nekoma Edition》

Yo-hoo! Here’s another part to this potential(?) series! I hope you enjoy the possible call-outs in some of these lmao. Writers block been kicking my ass recently but I had a lot of fun writing these. Enjoy <3

You can find the Karasuno ver. here

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Kuroo:

Have a hand fetish and will not say no to choking.

Daddy kink™

Will not accept anything below 6 inches.

More of a dog person but would love to own a black cat.

You drool over tattoos.

Your grades are mostly B’s but you know in your heart you deserve that A, and tbh you probably do. Chase ur goals bby.

Halloween is likely your favourite holiday.

You have to resist not to carve a dick into the pumpkin EvEry GodDAmN YeAr.

You either study for 6 hours consecutively or cannot study at all and you get very frustrated at this.

Have the potential to be a good leader and command the room but probably don’t put it to use as much as you should.

Your playlist parkours from sad 3am crying into your pillow songs to aggressive punk music you could rob a store to.

You like bad boys who hang around bars and look like they would put out a cigarette on your forearm and call you a slut. Just stating facts sweaty xoxo.

Either dress very feminine and girly with a ‘smol girl uwu’ aesthetic or a hardass punk who would kick your ass for a can of beer no in between and tbh both are equally hot.

You’re a big softie at heart either way and just want to be held and told everything will be okay.

Ur a hoe for when people stroke your hair or caress your chin it’s your ultimate weakness.

Watched Rick & Morty.

Twice.

Sleeves rolled up veiny forearms and donning a silver watch are your muse and something you fantasise about frequently.

Most of your memes are shitty top text bottom texts that are somehow funny and I don’t understand why lmao.

You call someone ‘bro’ even if it’s someone you’re immensely attracted to.

Did someone say ties? No it’s just ur dirty ass thoughts thinking about that hot business dudes attire from across the street and how you wish they were tied around ur wrists.

Probably had a crush on Jeff the Killer as a tween and are relentlessly haunted by your old Wattpad library.

Tbh any dark-haired dude with bedhead that screams rugged and probably not good for you is something that draws you like a moth to a flame.

You often question why every person you’ve fallen for has been a Scorpio and curse that tendency of yours.

Dw man they’re hot so I feel u.

Kenma:

Went through a ‘I’m not like other __’ phase and it’s something that you think about a lot and wish you didn’t.

Watched dan & phil as a kid.

Any mention of Pokemon has you turning into a rabid beast you get way too excited.

It’s cute though dw bby.

Pretty antisocial but interesting to talk to.

Your family often question how you’re able to sleep in till 3pm and judge you heavily for it.

Nocturnal night owl gang rise up.

Frequently have bags under your eyes but somehow manage to pull it off.

Listen to ASMR on the down-low and will never admit it to a single soul.

Frequently go on BL binges and have many related book marks.

You pray that someone will never find your laptop bc holy fuck the amount of smut on that.

You wear scarves & beanies even when it isn’t that cold outside.

100% went through a scene hair phase/attempted to.

You dye your hair a lot or REALLY want to.

You have a voice kink low-key so anyone with a pleasant/soothing sounding voice just gets u goin’.

Cats are your favourite animal and you either do or want to own several.

Would name them after video game/anime characters u fuckin nerd lol.

Speaking of cats ,you fantasise heavily about cat-boys and have a folder dedicated to them.

Oversized hoodies are your vibe and always ball the sleeve hems in your fist as a comfort mechanism.

Shopping centres are your worst nightmare and trigger your claustrophobia or social anxiety and honestly I feel that spiritually.

Have a cute sticky note collection.

You like a lot of music consisting of guitar and slow/soothing beats.

You also fw EDM/ techno on occasions.

Honestly wouldn’t wanna anger you since you have a seething temper when pushed far enough.

It’s the kinda temper that’s eerily quiet but no less terrifying, like the other person can tell you are graphically plotting their demise.

You love sleeping to the sound of rainfall and often play those nature ambience videos while you sleep.

Never tidy your sheets and it’s just a big scrunched up heap of fabric in the centre of your mattress most of the time.

Make your fucking bed.

Lev:

Your ships are chaotic and shamelessly controversial.

Would do something just for the sake of creating mayhem lmao.

You were the fucker who stuck their chewing gum under the desk, I see you.

Your brain never stops whirring it’s a constant hurricane of crackhead energy and you have no idea how to turn it off.

Would eat a stick of pencil lead for $2

You don’t help your situation with the amount of coffee/energy drinks you consume.

The class clown who cries themselves to sleep.

Such a wholesome dumbass but somehow kinda intimidating???

Even if you’re not confident you can do something you’ll try anyway and honestly I respect that about you.

You !! use!!! a lot??!! of!! random punctuation!!! so you always??!?!? seem!!111!! excited!!!!!11!?

Every time you’ve ever tried to make a sandcastle it has failed.

You tried to eat the sand once but we don’t talk bout that.

You would also pick up slugs and snails and chase your friends around with them.

Can never tell whether people are laughing with you or at you and while you don’t let it show it high-key bothers you when you’re laying alone in your room at night.

Not one to hold grudges, you carry a ‘shit happens’ mentality which is v good but it sometimes leads to people taking advantage of it or walking all over you.

Your meme collection is both questionable and horrifying.

Like how many cursed images and heavily distorted pictures does one person need.

Never organise the files on your PC/laptop so it looks like a complete dumpster fire.

The one at sleepovers who persistently woke everyone else up with their snickering and refusal to sleep till dawn.

For the love of Asahi charge your damn phone.

I see that red bar and ‘12%’

Charge it now.

Bought a plant one time, gave it a name and talked to it frequently.

It died not long after bc u forgot to fucking water it.

No one better ever make you responsible for a pet.

Type of person that when someone asks you to tag along on an endeavour no matter how stupid it is you will agree.

2am skydiving in france? hell yeah.

Midnight shopping spree and spending over half your pay check? count you in.

Exploring an abandoned hospital and performing an Ouija board to summon the demons of hell? you’re damn right you’ll be there.

I hope you have a mum friend by your side bc if not how are you still alive.

You sometimes put the milk in before the cereal and it’s something I’ll never forgive you for.

Yaku:

Very responsible and usually make the right decisions.

You do have moments where you act like a complete dumbass though.

Like u go from 50 year old to 5 year old in the blink of an eye.

A hopeless romantic but it’s a side you don’t often reveal.

Prefer strawberry milk over any other flavour.

You’re the type of person to shower twice a day w/o fail.

Where that stank smell coming from? Not you clearly bc your skin is basically 90% The Body Shop’s rose scented soap at this point.

You get stomach aches a lot and you can’t figure out why.

Probably an allergy to everyone’s bs.

Really good at dirty talk even though you don’t seem the type so people are always taken aback.

You have to be really in the mood though otherwise it falls flatter than Oikawa’s ass, use your skill wisely.

You often call people clowns when you know you’re secretly the biggest one going.

Honk honk, hoe.

You send messages in one paragraph rather than multiple texts unless you are REALLY excited.

People underestimate you at times then are shocked when they realise you are capable of being a fire-breathing dragon from the flaming pits of hell.

You like spicy chicken wings.

Such a petty little shit at times lmao.

Enjoy the view from the top of mountains so you either hike a lot or really want to.

Way more of a cat person since it’s just much more convenient for you.

Usually pretty cheerful or calm and people are drawn to your stable/friendly aura.

Went through a phase of drinking mountain dew and your body still feels the awful effects

Fav element is probably air.

You’re 5′6″ or shorter.

Box dyed your hair brunette several times and can never get the pigment out to this day.

Yamamoto:

Whenever you smell something weird in the room you always internally freak out and think it’s you.

Head-butting walls is your hobby.

You fell off your bike as a kid and still have the scar on your knee.

Probably have tons of ear piercings.

Would tame a pigeon and call it Larry.

You get frequent nosebleeds and can never tell if it’s a medical issue or your extreme simping for fictional men/women.

Hopefully the latter.

You constantly chew your pen/pencil in class so you never lend them to anyone out of embarrassment.

I really hope no one ever lends you stationery bc 30 minutes later it’ll look like it was mauled by a rabid rottweiler.

You really want to own a dog and would call it something intimidating like Banshee or Diablo.

You bleached your hair that one time and it almost fell out so now you’re forced to stay at least 10 metres away from all at-home hair dye products.

You tried your best though bby so A for effort, even if it did look like dehydrated ramen afterwards.

Your grades are mostly C’s and you’re barely passing bc you just don’t care about your classes lol.

Still though you’re actually pretty smart so put it to good use you lazy oaf, channel that crackhead energy into something good.

Your phone screen has several cracks in it from when you dropped it on the bathroom floor while shitting and you’ll always be angry at yourself for that.

You have some really weird quirks but you make it work.

Actually a v chill person but you just kinda attract chaos/trouble wherever you go.

Carry a lighter with you even when you don’t need one.

Shy texter but once people see you irl you are the complete opposite, you just dk how to text without coming across as awkward.

One of those people that’s unintentionally funny and always get confused when you make someone laugh but it makes you feel good regardless.

Have a cool necklace collection and own at least one dog-tag/army style pendant.

Should really consider buying a rabbit you would look so cute w/ one.

You have really nice legs and people should compliment them more.

Either severely dehydrated or overly hydrated to the point you are peeing pure tap water so for the love of god please learn moderation, your kidneys and bladder will thank you for it.

Inuoka:

Your favourite character would be Hinata but you like people taller than you so your love for Inuoka spawned.

You really enjoy using the double spiderman meme.

Cannot correctly verbalise your feelings without creating a minimum of 10 misunderstandings but once people are used to it it’s kinda endearing.

You usually wake up in a good mood and people can never fathom how or why.

You either stay up till 5am or you wake up at that time no in between.

A morning person bc you love the sunrise.

Change your lock-screen very regularly bc you get bored.

Your humour consists solely of poop jokes.

When you don’t understand a joke you laugh anyway and hope they don’t ask you if you actually get it.

Happened once and you’re still traumatised from the cricket silence that fell upon the room.

Really like the taste of lemonade and drink it more often than you should.

Often think about what you would look like with a shaved head.

More of an extrovert but def have occasional introvert tendencies where you wanna be left tf alone.

Never allowed to pick up anything in stores bc the last time you did you sniffed a scented candle and it shattered to the floor.

Constantly have spontaneous ideas of what to change about your appearance.

You use a lot of hand gestures like thumbs up and peace signs.

‘Dude’ and ‘lmao’ is 90% of your vernacular.

Your nails are a disaster, some are down to the nub while others are pretty grown out bc you only bite a select few please sort it out.

Look really good in red.

Your laptop has way too many tabs open from random google searches of words you didn’t know the meaning to.

You read a lot of books but for like 10 minutes at a time bc you have the attention span of a walnut.

You are the type of person to nuke your AO3 tags with things that aren’t even relevant purely bc you found them funny.

Your Tumblr drafts are a nightmare, you have like 100+ in the works yet keep starting new projects why do you do this.

Happy sunshine but you have a LOT of mood swings like that shit comes out of nowhere.

Cry pretty often but no one ever sees and it’s usually because of said mood swings.

You always smile and pick yourself up again though which I commend you for.

TYPES IN CAPITALS IN SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE SAID PUNCTUATION SO YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE YELLING ALL THE TIME.

#hq #haikyuu #nekoma #yaku morisuke #lev haiba #yamamoto taketora #kuroo testuro #kenma kozume #inuoka sou

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fostersffff · 4 years

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Bursted my way through a bunch of smaller indie titles that I had been accumulating on my Switch, so here’s a brief review of all four of them!

Creature in the Well: This actually came out nearly a full year ago now, but I only just picked it up. It’s a nifty little action game themed after pinball: you control a robot who’s charged with re-powering a mountain-sized weather machine, and you do this by hitting balls of energy into de-powered pylons. Re-powering pylons earns you energy points, which you can to open the way forward and, if you find the right materials by hunting for secret rooms by completing trickier pinball puzzles, power up your robot so that it hits harder and faster. My biggest complaint is that the “dungeons” are all made up of identical rooms, but shuffled around and palette swapped, so an already short game is made to feel even shorter by how samey everything is. A fun romp, but there’s really not much else to say about it.

Panzer Paladin: Sorry to say that this was definitely the most disappointing game on this list, especially since this was the one I was most hyped for after demoing it at PAX a few times. It’s a platformer that takes nearly all of its design cues from Mega Man, except that instead of a robot with a projectile, you control a robot with a laser whip who pilots a giant mech who picks up all sorts of swords, spears, and clubs from the enemies they beat. The weapons the mech acquires all have durability, but they also have an associated spell, and you can manually break them to do things like boost your attack and defense, heal yourself, enchant your weapons with a beam attack, and a few other fun niche abilities. The problem is that despite taking its design cues from Mega Man, it executes worse than the original Mega Man on basically everything. There are too many stages, and they’re all too long and homogeneous with bad checkpoints and sudden difficulty spikes, typically right before a checkpoint. You have a stage select, but it ultimately doesn’t matter because the only thing you get from beating any particular boss is a weapon with a higher attack, durability rating, and unique appearance, but are otherwise functionally identical to all the other weapons you get. Even its neat original ideas don’t hold up great: you can hop out of your mech and platform with your much smaller and much more fragile main character, but the only reason you’d do this is if the game requires it or if your mech loses all of its HP, and you might wind up in a situation where you get to a checkpoint but can’t actually use it, because checkpoints have to be manually activated by your mech giving up a weapon, so most of the time if you find yourself without a mech, it’s easier to just take the L and throw yourself into a pit. Ultimately, the best thing about the game is its character design in cutscenes, which is very much inspired by late 70′s/early 80′s anime like Captain Harlock and Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

Raji: An Ancient Epic: Raji was the game that caught my attention the most during the recent Nintendo Indie direct, both because the game and the story behind it seemed neat. The development team is almost entirely from India, a part of the world not particularly well known for game development, and certainly not action-adventure games with an emphasis on combat. It was also rescued after a failed crowdfunding campaign, and is currently being featured as a timed exclusive for the Switch, so I was rooting for it as soon as I found out about it. You play as Raji, a circus performer in ancient India who sets out to rescue her brother after he’s abducted by demons. The game is narrated by the Hindu gods Durga and Vishnu, who also grant Raji boons in the form of weapons and elemental blessings so she can hold her own against the demons. The adventuring part of the game is pretty simple, mostly just contextual button presses, and you’ll occasionally arrive at very simple rotation based puzzles, or murals depicting Hindu mythology that you can interact with for context. The combat is the more interesting part of the game: you have a series of three light attacks, heavy attacks, and dodges that chain into each other infinitely (compare to other action games where you have defined combo strings that force some kind of pause at the end unless manually interupted), which is pretty necessary how many enemies you can be put up against at once and how much wind-up your attacks have and how little hitstun the enemies suffer. It’s definitely different than what I expect from combat, but not necessarily bad. The game does have a number of issues, including (especially) technical performance on the Switch, difficulty completely falling off once you get your last elemental blessing, and a story that ended so abruptly that I thought maybe I missed a true ending requirement somewhere along the way- ultimately, all the kinds of things you’d expect from a crowdfunded game from a brand new studio. I’d say the game is worth giving a shot, but you’d probably be better off waiting for it to come out on other consoles or PC. It’s not the worst Switch port I’ve ever played, but running better than Bloodstained isn’t too high a bar to get over.

A Short Hike: Easily the best game on this list. As the title implies, A Short Hike is about hiking up a trail to get to the top of a mountain. You can choose to take the direct route up the mountain, or explore the campground and do some other activities, such as collecting seashells, boating, or parkour racing. Based on that description, you might think the game is just a walking simulator, but the critical addition of simple mechanics like jumping, gliding, and climbing instead result in a game that feels like Breath of the Wild set in the low stakes world of Animal Crossing, complete with big eyed animal folk who look almost exactly like Animal Crossing villagers. The controls are nice and tight, and it runs as smooth as butter on the Switch thanks to the simplistic art style, which is best described as “3D on a Nintendo DS”. My only strike against the game is that it’s writing feels very... “be gay do crimes”. That’s probably the wrong way to describe it, but that’s the phrase I think of when every piece of dialog in a game feels very quirky and saccharine and absolutely nothing else. It’s not a bad tone for a game like this, and I did have a few laugh out loud moments, but I wish there was just a bit more variety in that respect. Even so, this game is absolutely in the running for a spot on my personal Top 10 of the year (even though it technically came out on PC last year).

#Creature in the Well #Panzer Paladin #Raji #Raji: An Ancient Epic #A Short Hike #video games #long post

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shurastealthdragon-blog · 5 years

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Deck Building 101

So by now, you should know about the various clans, should have a solid understanding of how Imaginary Gifts function, and should have access to places and information that have provided you a solid idea on how to play the game. If not, there’s no worries: Make sure to check out my previous posts to help fill in some of the gaps.

At this point, you’ve probably starting looking at cards and are going “I want to build a deck for this clan, but I don’t know where to start” or “How do I upgrade my trial deck from here?” This is a common issue for new players of any game, and unlike other popular TCGs like Yu-Gi-Oh or Magic the Gathering, there aren’t a lot of places to look up online decklists to help nudge new players in the right direction. This article is aimed to help you identify some positive resources to help you build you’re deck and teach you some of the main things to consider when building your own deck list. There are a few rules you need to consider when making any deck in this game.

1) Every deck in Vanguard must consist of 50 cards in the main deck.

2) You can’t play more than 4 copies of any card with the same name in a deck

3) Your deck must include exactly 16 trigger units, and you can only use up to 4 heals.

And without further ado, let’s get started:

First thing’s first: every deck needs a focus. Put simply, a deck’s focus is described as one of two things: The main card the deck uses to win and/or the strategy used to win. For example, a Link Joker player may choose to build an aggressive deck around Docking Deletor, Greion (see above) and focus on beating down on the opponent by lowering the opponent’s defenses and killing their key combo pieces, or the Link Joker player may prefer a more disruptive strategy such as Wandering Starhulk Ruler, Brandt, which focuses on hindering the opponent’s plays and keeping a heavy defense to try and make the opponent do themselves in.

When building a deck, it’s very important to figure out how you want to win with the deck in order to find cards that support it in the most optimal manner. The first thing every player should do is find their ‘boss monster, ‘avatar’, or focus unit and decide how to best build around it. Once you have your focus, it’s time to start looking at other cards you can use to help your focus do it’s job.

Every leader needs his army, and Vanguard is no different. In order to help your plan succeed, you’ll need to think about how your cards work together.

As you can see above, Greion is a powerful unit, capable of removing your opponent’s rearguards for the rest of the game and forcing your opponent to crumble beneath his aura as he sets the opponent’s Vanguard down to 0 power and with no abilities. What this means for your opponent is that they have to throw even more cards down to guard against your might blows, and unless they ride on top of the deleted Vanguard, they’re stuck with a unit who’s only real function is to perform twin drive.

However, if you notice, Greion’s power does not come for cheap. Greion requires two counter-blasts to use his ability, a cost that isn’t easily mitigated in a deck that loves to eat through its own resources. When looking for rearguards, we may want to look for cards that can potentially give us some of our resources back (placing cards back in soul or turning cards back face-up in the damage zone).

Additionally, because Greion plays aggressive, it’s likely we’ll need cards that can also be used to lay down aggressive pressure in order to capitalize fully on our opponent’s moments of weakness.

Ill-fate Deletor, Drown is a unit that pairs very well with Greion. Since Greion’s ability to ‘Delete’ the opponent’s vanguard is a skill that can be activated during the Main Phase, you can call Drown to the field right before using Greion’s skill and activate Drown as a result. Not only can Drown remove a pesky rearguard from intercepting or furthering your opponent’s plan, but if you overextend your resources to lay down pressure, Drown will immediately refund you one Counterblast and place itself in soul in order to use for other skills in the turn.

Swift Deletor, Geali is another rearguard that pairs really well with Greion due to it’s ability not only to buff itself, but to place pressure on the opponent that makes them practically have to guard. Against a deleted Vanguard, he requires a 15000 shield value unboosted to stop, and if the opponent does not guard, they risk either letting you draw a card or kill off another one of their units. With a Force 1 Imaginary Gift, he becomes a 24000 beater unboosted the turn it gets played, forcing your opponent then to to use 25000 shield to either stop your attack, take a loss to their field, or give you a plus to your hand. And if they guard, that’s 25000 worth of shield they can’t use to try and stop your Vanguard’s attack.

Very quickly it becomes easy to see how cards can play off of your focus/strategy, and the more you look into the cards in the clan you’re building, the more options you’ll find to potentially help compliment your win condition.

The biggest question for every player once you find cards you like is how many of each card should I run?

This is a very difficult thing to answer at times. You have to have exactly 50 cards in the deck, and 17 of those slots are taken by Grade 0 units (16 triggers and 1 starter). That leaves you 33 slots to divide up however you like between your Grade 1′s, 2′s, and 3′s.

Because of the unique nature of Standard, and the need to ride to Grade 3 as soon as possible, most decks have developed the following rations of their 1-3 lineups (barring a few exceptions):

Most decks run between 8-10 Grade 3′s.

Most decks run between 10-12 Grade 2′s.

Most decks run between 11-14 Grade 1′s.

Clearly, if a card is extremely important, you want to run as many of it as you can. For example: since Greion is the focus of our deck, we’d naturally want to run 4 copies of him to ensure we draw him as quickly as possible. And since we noted how useful Drown is, he’s likely another card we run at the max limit to improve consistency.

However, let’s say you decided to run the following card in your deck.

Embroil Deletor, Jaega is a solid card that trades a minus 1 on your end for a minus 2 on your opponent’s end. However, due to it’s cost, it can potentially be a hindrance if you draw it at certain points in the game. You won’t always be able to afford a minus 1 off your field. When a card isn’t important enough to your win condition, you can afford to cut back to two or three copies of the card.

Consistency is the most important thing in any card game. When balancing your ratios and determining how many of a card you want to run in your deck, it’s necessary to consider ‘How well does this card add to the consistency of my win condition?’

When you’ve finished the first draft of your deck, go test it! Play a few casual games with your friends, take it and play around with it at locals, or hop online and test it against other players on Cardfight Area (an PC version of the game hosted through winrar). As you play, take notice of what does and doesn’t work when you play. Does this card feel like it never helps when you draw it? Take it out. Does this card perform better than I thought? Keep it in and play four if it’s working hard enough. Make sure to get practice in with your cards. Sometimes things look or sound a lot better on paper, but when you start practicing with it, it doesn’t perform as well as it seems it should. Deck building in large is a process of trial and error. As you slowly start to tinker around and practice, you’ll learn the combos of your clan, how best to use them, and what sorts interactions your cards has with other decks.

Although there are very few places to look at other people’s lists and compare them to your own (Bushiroad posts the lists of the top 3 players of every BCS tourney), one of the most helpful places you can go is, oddly enough, Facebook.

There are a large number of Facebook Groups dedicated to Vanguard, including some dedicated to specific clans, and there are a large number of players who are willing to help new players getting into the game. There are a few notable Youtubers who post deck-based content as well, such as Solemn Vanguard, Differentfight, and more, however: I personally do not recommend using a number of Youtubers as source material for a beginning point for decks. I personally recommend looking at Bushiroad’s website and using the various Facebook groups to help you get started. Bushiroad’s Japanese website even occasionally post suggestive lists for a clan everytime a new set releases.

That’s all for this time guys, stay tuned for more down the road!

-SSD

#cardfight vanguard #cfv #cfvanguard #standard

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burnouts3s3 · 6 years

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Jump Force, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: Spike Chunsoft Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 59.99 USD How much I paid: 99.99 USD for the Ultimate Edition. Bundle Includes: 3 Days Early access. Lobby Vehicles to ‘ride around in’ that’s purely cosmetic. Season Pass that unlocks 9 DLC characters to be announced and released at a later date. Rated: T for Mild Blood, Suggestive Themes and Violence Number of Playable Characters: 43. 4 Original characters. 39 Characters from Established franchises. Number of Stages: 7. Each Stage has a transition that changes when a character hits an opponent with a specific attack. Can I play offline: Yes. Controller Support: Yes. It was compatible with my Rock-Candy Xbox 360 controller. Keyboard and Mouse controls are available but are very awkward and the game was clearly designed with a controller in mind. How long I played: 18 Hours. 10 Hours to beat the story mode while watching the Cutscenes. UNSKIPPABLE cutscenes. 7 Hours just messing around and playing online matches. Microtransactions: 39.99 Season Pass that unlocks 9 DLC characters to be announced at a later date. Dual Audio: No. Only Japanese Audio with Subs available. What I played on: My PC. Performance Issues: For the most part, I got ‘mostly’ 60 FPS when I was playing online or running around. However, the FPS dips when there’s a cutscene playing to the mid 40’s even the high 30’s. Too bad however beautiful the particle effects are can’t adjust the wooden facial animations and stiff body movements. 3 Crashes within my playtime. My Personal Biases: I’ve followed the saga of Son Goku and friends. I’ve watched Naruto Uzumaki become the Hokage. I’ve watched Yusuke Urameshi journey from boy to man. I’ve watched Gon, Killua and Kullapika go on their various hunting expeditions. I’ve watched Yugi Moto become the king of games. And I’ve watched Light Yagami become defeated by his own hubris. In other words, I’ve been waiting for this game a ‘very’ long time, and have played previous games such as JStars Victory Vs. My Verdict: As much fun as it is seeing characters like Fist of the North Star’s Kenshiro beat the pulp out of My Hero Academia’s Deku, the limited roster, worn out gameplay from the Naruto Shippuden and Dragonball Xenoverse games, the laughable animation, idiotic story mode and the ever anti-consumer practices of Bandai Namco are bogging this game down. If you’re a fan of Shounen Jump, you’ll sure to have fun. But, if you’re patient or you want more characters consider picking up Jump Ultimate Stars or JStars Victory Vs and wait for a sale. Jump Force, a review

In celebration for 50 years, Weekly Shounen Jump has announced a new crossover game. Made with collaboration between Publisher Bandai Namco and Developer Spike Chunsoft, “Jump Force” arrives to bring together various characters found in Shueisha’s long running publication.

Can the game live up to the vast legacy it has inherited? Let’s find out in this review of “Jump Force”!

The Umbra cubes, cosmic cubes capable of granting those great power, have spread throughout the world. Thanks to the villain, Kane, and his lovely assistant, Galena, he has recruited the villains from Shounen Jump and replicated them. All the meanwhile, normal citizens have become “Venoms”, possessed by evil impulses. But just as Frieza fires a laser beam, ending your life, Trunks comes in, uses and Umbra cube and grants you great power to help combat evil.

Jump Force is an Arena fighting game similar to games such as Dragonball Xenoverse or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Players pick between 3 characters and attempt to lower their opponent’s (shared) healthbar to zero. In addition to physical attacks, they can spend the abilities gauge to use a variety of ranged or close up attacks. In addition, whenever players take damage, they fill up the ‘awakening’ bar. Using half an awakening bar will allow players to unleash an ultimate attack, an ability that deals more damage than regular abilities. Using a full awakening bar will ‘transform’ the character to a powered-up state. For example, Goku will transform from his base form to his Super Saiyan form.

The other two characters can be called upon using the left trigger. Simply pressing the trigger will swap the character while holding it down will call them for an assist attack. Unfortunately, you cannot change the order of which characters you switch to and must cycle through said order to access the characters. (For example having a team order of Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo means that Goku cannot switch to Piccolo without switching through Vegeta first). Be careful because if you switch while both characters are on screen and the opponent is able to hit both, you’ll receive double the damage.

Customizing your character is nothing new for Bandai Namco games such as the various DBZ Xenoverse games and Naruto: Shinobi Striker, but the mechanic remains impressive here. Allowing you a vast customization between characters allows different playstyles and gives your individual avatar the ability to learn various techniques such as Vegeta’s Galick Gun or Yusuke’s Spirit Gun. However, certain techniques, such as anything related to Jotaro or Yugi are unable to be learned by your Avatar character.

Similarly, the defense system returns. Using the mobility meter, characters can dash towards or away from the opponent or teleport out of a combo behind the enemy. Most of the time, using the guard button will block most attacks. But, characters can either grab the blocking opponent or hold down either the smash or heavy smash button to break through the opponent’s guard.

While most of the characters play similar to one another, some of the characters have slight variations. For example, similar to his manga counterpart, Sanji will be unable to deal damage to female characters. Similarly, when Gon connets with an opponent with his Ultimate attack, he will become unplayable for the duration of the match.

Learning said techniques can be used by spending the in-game currency which allows you to easily unlock abilities, skills that aid in battle such as boosting attack power or various costumes for your avatar. In-game currency can be earned by either playing through the story or playing online.

The Story will not win any awards unless the Razzies suddenly announce a video game category. It’s a pastiche of clichés, tired tropes and nonsense as players slog through another world ending plot with stupid villains, stupid twists and characters acting like morons. For some reason, Light Yagami figures out the twist that even the dumbest of us can figure out 5 seconds in. Not helping matters are the rest of the characters acting like complete idiots with Sanji being the focus for some reason.

Say what you will about the current state of fanfiction, bad fanfiction is at least INTERESTING.

This combines the worst of Mary Sue fanfiction with the most boring and bland cliches possible. I understand orienting the game for Western audiences meant having to borrow notes from the Avengers and Justice League, but the characters expositing non-stop about the predictable plotline isn’t helpful. Worst yet, Developer Spike Chunsoft has forgotten a vital component for any story cutscene, the ability to skip them. So, be prepared to watch as characters drone on and on during the cutscenes figuring out the plot.

Just the same, the artstyle is going to alienate some longtime fans. While using the Unreal engine to render things such as particle effects, fire and energy beams is a delight to behold, said delight is replaced by revulsion watching the stiff character faces barely emote when watching a cutscene. These animations make Mass Effect: Andromeda look like the Witcher 3.

Half the time, the characters don’t even talk. RYUK DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A VOICE! What’s odd is that in the non-essential cutscenes, when the characters barely move and don’t have voices, the writing actually improves. Seeing various characters from different franchises interact with each other, brings a small delight to a mess of a game. Watching Zoro tutor Asta while Kenshin watches on or seeing Deku be a student to Kakashi’s lectures is the stuff of fan dreams. It’s too bad these moments are few and fleeting. And while 42 Characters in a base game is nothing to sneeze at, fans of Shounen Jump crossover games have already called out Developer Spike Chunsoft. While more famous franchises such as Dragonball Z, Naruto and One Piece boast a whopping 6 representatives each, more obscure franchises are either not represented or have a meager 1 character, such as City Hunter’s Ryo Saeba or Fist of the North Star’s Kenshiro. Meanwhile, mainstays from previous Jump crossover games such as Dr. Slump’s Arale, Kochikame’s Ryotsu, Bobobo’s Bobobo, D Grayman’s Allen Walker, Reborn’s Tsuna Sawada and Gintama’s Gintoki are all missing (though there is speculation they would be added later as Downloadable Content locked away with a paywall). And yet… God, it’s just such a fangasm seeing characters from different franchises duke it out with one another. Seeing Jotaro fight with Deku. Seeing Asta cross blades with Dai. Seeing Goku trade blows with Kenshiro is just one of my biggest dreams. There’s a germ of an idea here but it’s botched by piss-poor execution. I’m just so sick of games I would’ve loved missing the mark and not reaching their full potential. Caveat: Shounen Jump, Shueisha and Bandai Namco have a rare opportunity on their hands. Having the ability to have a character as old as Seiya have a fist fight with a modern character like Deku is one of the rare privileges a company can have alongside with Marvel, DC Comics and Nintendo. So, it’s unfortunate when Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft drop the ball and start limiting the roster, overpopulating it with familiar franchises instead of obscure ones and start nickeling and diming its customers with stupid DLC policies. Say what you will about the (very) imperfect JStars Victory Vs (which was also developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco), the one thing that game did right was introduce a plebian like me to series such as Medaka Box, Assassination Classroom, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, Toriko and Beelzebub. And while I did enjoy the extensive customization and gained a sick sense of pleasure whenever I finish off an opponent with DIO’s Road Roller, part of me couldn’t help but wonder when Kinnikuman is going to get the recognition he deserves. Maybe when Shounen Jump has its 55th anniversary, they can give its vast legacy of characters a game worthy of 50 years. We’ll always have Jump Ultimate Stars on the DS. Verdict: Rental or Wait for a Sale

#jump force #bandai namco #spike chunsoft #goku #vegeta #luffy #naruto #shounen jump #shueisha

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illusivegore · 6 years

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Gore Reviews Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark

Release Date: July 23, 2013 Platforms: Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita (reviewed), PlayStation 4, iOS

Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark (formerly known as Stealth Bastard on PC) is a game that tries to blend platforming, puzzle solving and stealth into a challenging, yet accessible package and for the most part, it does just that. While I’m a big fan of both platformers and puzzle games, I’ve never been too keen on stealth in games. So I went into Stealth Inc. curious, but skeptical. Fortunately, much like last year’s Mark of the Ninja, Stealth Inc. handles the stealth aspects in a very user-friendly manner.

The character you play as, one of a number of clones, is outfitted with some pretty sweet stealth goggles and these will be vital to your success. As you traverse levels, these goggles will shine green (hidden), yellow (partially visible) or red (fully visible), depending on how concealed within the shadows you are. Thanks to this, you’ll always know just how visible you are, so there’s no pointless guess work (and inevitable frustration) as seen in some other stealth games. Level design also lends to this user-friendly nature as well, as each enemy has a clearly defined area of vision, so if you pay attention you’ll always know where you stand when it comes to the stealth.

Much the way stealth is handled, the puzzles in the game are well designed and quite intuitive. Stealth Inc. is broken down into 8 separate “worlds” (known as sectors), each with 10 levels and a unique theme. This type of design eases you into the puzzles, allowing you to learn the basics in the early levels of each sector and then getting more complicated as you progress. While I did get stumped a few times during my playthrough, figuring out the tougher puzzles always felt satisfying and logical and never purposely abstract just for the sake of difficulty. Each sector also ends with a boss level that puts all you’ve learned throughout that sector to the test. These all felt refreshing and were a nice way to end each sector, but if I had to nitpick just a bit, the difficulty felt a little uneven from sector to sector. For instance, I found the final boss level to be much easier than some of the boss levels in sectors before it, but this is just a small gripe.

The platforming in Stealth Inc. wasn’t quite as impressive as its stealth and puzzle elements, but it is more than sufficient. It took me a few levels to get used to the way it controlled and while I would have liked slightly tighter controls, it was nothing that affected my enjoyment of the game. Luckily, there are only a couple of instances in the game where your platforming becomes a crucial aspect to being successful and it may take a couple of tries, but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome. That is, unless you’re trying to get an S-rank on every level.

One of my biggest issues with Stealth Inc. comes from its ranking system. As I mentioned earlier, there are 10 levels within each sector, but two of those levels must be unlocked a specific way, one by acquiring a collectible on each of the first 8 levels and the other by achieving an S-rank on each of those 8 levels. In order to get this S-rank for each level you’ll need to complete the level in a certain amount of time, finish the level with 0 deaths and only be detected a certain number of times. No deaths is a given and while the time constraints can take some practice as you master the platforming on each level, my biggest problems come from the detection limit. In most levels this isn’t a problem, but in some levels it seems to be more reliant on luck than skill because some enemy reactions never seem to be the same twice in a row. I had the most issue in the boss levels as each boss can be very finicky in whether or not it detects you. Eventually I got sick of this hit or miss detection and with no discernible pattern to consistently follow, I gave up on getting S-ranks. So I missed out on a number of the bonus levels and felt like I didn’t get to experience all the game had to offer.

There are also a number of different suits you can unlock for your clone throughout the game, but if you use them, you are eliminated from getting an S-rank. So they felt rather pointless to me and I didn’t even bother trying or unlocking all of them, but if you’re looking to get more out of the game, each suit has its own leaderboard and offers a unique way to play the game.

The game also offers up a level editor, if that’s something you’re into. As I’ve never been the kind of person that builds my own levels in games, I didn’t touch it. So I can‘t really comment much on it, but it’s there if you’re interested.

Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark is a great game, with a great sense of humor (the ending definitely makes it worth playing to completion) that blends platforming, puzzle solving and stealth gameplay nearly perfectly. It offers up 64 intelligently designed and challenging levels as you progress through the game, with another 14 that can be unlocked in special ways (if you’re better than me). Unfortunately unlocking some of these levels requires you to achieve an S-rank on the 8 levels before it and getting these ranks comes down to luck far too often. That said, even if you don’t get to experience these bonus levels, the base game (which is cross-buy on PS3 and Vita) is well worth your time and money and something I’d recommend checking out.

Score: 4 out of 5

#games #video games #review #reviews #stealth inc

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stompsite · 6 years

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Dreaming Of Another World

It was all Narnia’s fault.

I grew up in a deeply religious family, one that eschewed ‘worldly’ media for the religious variety. I remember Dad dragging us out of a showing of the Lion King one rainy September day--I think we’d gone to one of those theatres where the tickets were cheap and they only showed movies that had been out for a long time because my family was thrifty like that--because he was furious. Some time later, he explained to me that Disney was trying to brainwash us with “New Age Philosophy,” and he was angry at the spirit that tried to do it to us. Not a great birthday memory for me.

But Narnia? It had magic and monsters and demons and werewolves, and for whatever reason, we were allowed to watch it whenever we went to Grandma’s house. My parents drove us up to Independence, Missouri every few months for something called Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization, where we would stay with grandma and watch Narnia. EPD was an experimental allergen treatment that was banned in 2001.

I remember drinking water with bismuth in it and eating an awful meal that had the consistency of literal shit. This was supposed to help us get over our allergies, but I think the treatment was far worse. We weren’t allowed to eat many things, and most of what we could eat was disgusting, so most of the time, we laid around, sick, feverish, and vomiting, and we ate reheated french fries from Wendy’s (McDonald’s wasn’t allowed due to the oil they used), and we watched all of Grandma’s old movies.

My favorite one was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, a movie about kids who escaped the horrors of World War II by traveling to another dimension where it was always winter and a cruel, monstrous witch ruled with an iron hand. Eventually, thanks to the help of the Christ-like Aslan, they overthrew her.

It was a dark movie, a far cry from the generally happy, low-intensity religious movies Mom let us watch. Aslan died, y’know. It was, to 8 year old me, the most incredible thing in the world. Later, I read the rest of the books, and I loved them too. My favorite was The Silver Chair, the darkest and least hopeful book of all. No one book had more of an impact on my artistic sensibilities than The Silver Chair. Real stakes! Real pain! Hope! Triumph! All the good stuff.

When I was 10, I found Digimon.

I was hanging out at Hyram’s place watching The Magic School Bus, a show that we weren’t allowed to watch at my house because of the magic. Hyram’s family, being Mormon, had a more enlightened--so it seemed--outlook on the world, being okay with sci-fi and fantasy stories that my parents forbade us from seeing. So there we were, watching The Magic School Bus, and the commercials came on, and Fox Kids aired a commercial for Digimon (Adventure 01, Episode 28, in case you were wondering--the one with the ferocious Devidramon).

Digimon was even darker than Narnia. It’s villains were literally Satan and a Vampire. There’s an episode where one of the kids is told her mother doesn’t love her and as a result, she’ll never be able to help her friends. There was drama, self-doubt, pain, misery, and, in the end, the kids overcame the darkness that opposed them and triumphed.

Over the years, I found increasingly creative ways to catch my Digimon fix, going to the church next door with a cable I’d found to connect to the TV so I could just barely catch Fox 24 when it was broadcasting. When Digimon stopped airing, I desperately searched for a way to download the show online, which led me to IRC, which took me to roleplay forums, which led me to Kotaku comments, and finally Twitter, which is where I know most of you from.

I realize this may all sound very self-indulgent, and I’m sorry for that, but I feel it’s important to establish the personal context here. I love these stories about going to other worlds and experiencing things that our worlds could never give us. The stories acted as a kind of meta-transportation, a way of letting me escape the frustrations of my own life.

When I finally made the transition from cartoons and books to video games, everything seemed to snap into place. Games were the closest thing I’d ever found to actually visiting Narnia or the Digital World. My friend Robert introduced me to Halo in his trailer home. My parents gave me Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it was like being able to fly planes in real life, so much so that when I eventually attended flight training, my instructors told me I flew like someone with thousands of hours under his belt.

Games let me go places.

Games let me see new things.

So, one day, in early 2007, I found a copy of PC Gamer with Bioshock on the cover in the Wal-Mart magazine aisle. I remember furtively browsing the issue, making sure Mom didn’t suddenly round the corner and catch me reading it. The game looked incredible, but I was focused more on roleplaying forums at the time, and I forgot about it until that fall, a few weeks after it came out. CompUSA was going out of business and was selling off their games. I couldn’t game at home--our computers were old Boeing surplus and ran the Half-Life 2 Ravenholm demo like a slideshow--but with a portable hard drive I’d purchased and hid in the ceiling tiles of my bedroom, I could play them at the university I was attending.

So I did.

First person games appealed to me because they let me experience the game worlds as though they were real experiences. It was the closest thing to going to another world; third person games didn’t elicit the same response, so I didn’t play them as much. I was a big fan of the Age of Empires: Rise of Rome demo that came with my copy of Microsoft Flight Simluator, though. But it was the first person games, the ones I found on Maximum PC demo discs, that really mattered to me. I’d played hundreds of hours of Unreal Tournament 2004, Call of Duty, and even Far Cry.

When I played Bioshock, everything changed. I had to get my own computer. Had to. I moved out in late December to go learn to fly at K-State Salina. Got really sick that spring--my illness was just starting to reveal itself--and I flunked most of my classes. I was so sick most days I couldn’t leave the house. Got diagnosed with severe social anxiety disorder later. Only left the house at night unless I had classes, when I could make it to them at all. I’d earned enough money the previous fall to build myself my own computer.

I played games.

Bioshock had led me to System Shock 2. I pirated a copy of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl because I’d seen the disc at CompUSA (alongside Blacksite: Area 51) but only had the cash to buy Bioshock and The Orange Box without my parents noticing. I played FEAR and its expansions. All the Half-Life games. Crysis. Call of Duty 4. It was a great time to experience a lot of amazing first-person games.

System Shock and STALKER were the biggest influences.

When I moved back that summer, I scrounged and saved and used the last of my savings to buy STALKER: Clear Sky and Crysis Warhead. I played them while living in the unheated camping trailer my parents used to own (it was cheaper than paying for dorms whenever we attended church camps). It was cold. I could see my own breath most days. I got a job at Office Max and used it to buy a copy of Far Cry 2. A few weeks later, I picked up Fallout 3.

If you’re familiar with these games, you’ll notice a lot of them have things in common. They do interesting things with the game world. Many are heavily systems driven compared to their contemporaries. STALKER’s world especially feels completely alive. System Shock 2 does a bangin’ job of making you feel like you’re really exploring an abandoned spaceship. Far Cry 2’s systems-driven gameplay is fascinating and influences designers to this day. Fallout 3 has one of the best ecosystems in a video game, with enemies who you can wound and terrify and allied characters who will come to your aid.

Even Blacksite: Area 51 was a fascinating game. It had this cool morale system that had your soldiers responding to your commands and combat prowess in ways that, at the time, felt believable and awe-inspiring. In Crysis, if you dropped an unconscious man in a river, he would die because he drowned. Incredible. It felt real.

The games that shaped my experience took me to other worlds, shaping my perception of what games could be in a very specific direction. As someone who’d grown up reading the old Microsoft Flight Simulator tagline “As real as it gets,” I felt right at home.

I tried other games, like Nintendo’s platformers or controller-centric spectacle fighters like Devil May Cry 3, but I didn’t like them. They were too obviously games. You got points. Everything was abstract. I was playing. I wasn’t going anywhere.

As my health declined, the importance of traveling to other places increased. The mark of a good game for me became one where I could forget about the world I lived in and exist in another world. I’m reminded of Lord Foul’s Bane, a book in which a writer with leprosy is transported to another world where he is healed of his leprosy. Games provided me that escape, especially the immersive ones.

Ah.

Right.

That word.

Immersion is nothing to be afraid of. Some people say that any game can be immersive, because one of the meanings of the word is roughly analogous to “engrossed,” but the English language is weird and tricky and sometimes two words share the same meaning in the dictionary but mean very different things.

To be engrossed in something is to have your attention completely arrested by it. To be immersed in something, well… when you’re immersed in water, you are literally, physically inside of it. You are a part of the water, as much as you can be.

I was seeking out immersive qualities in games without really understanding it. I would learn that some of my favorite games in the genre were literally called “immersive sims.” Some people will argue that they are not engrossed by those games, so they cannot possibly be immersive, but I’d argue that when you’re immersed in something, it surrounds you, you’re inside it. Whether or not it grabs your attention is up to you.

When a game is immersive, it might not grab your attention, but it’s doing its best to create a living, breathing world. When you drop an unconscious man in water, he drowns because that is what would happen in real life. When you perform well in combat, your allies rally around you. When you shoot an enemy in the leg, he limps.

An immersive game is one that does its best to represent a cohesive reality.

If you don’t believe me, go listen to Paul Neurath, a founder of Looking Glass, a studio that made games like System Shock and Thief, talk about why they made the games they did. Look at the cool attempts at simulation elements in games made by LGS alumni, like Seamus Blackley’s Jurassic Park: Trespasser, or Warren Spector and Harvey Smith’s Deus Ex. Emil Pagliarulo got a job at Bethesda and has a senior role (I forget what it is, exactly, sorry) on simulation-heavy games like Fallout 3 and Skyrim.

Heck, the Sega 2K Football games were praised as having some of the most sophisticated and realistic AI in sports games before the NFL decided it wasn’t cool with yearly games being priced at a sub-premium price point. Marc LeBlanc worked on the AI for those.

The way I heard it, Looking Glass made flight simulators with realistic physics (I believe that was thanks to Blackley’s background as a physicist). At some point, the folks at Looking Glass thought it would be cool to take Dungeons and Dragons style tabletop and make a game out of it, but instead of building something like the isometric Ultima, they’d apply the flight simulator logic to it. The whole thing would be first person, and you could treat it like you were really there. Their publishing partner decided this new game should be an Ultima game, so Ultima Underworld was born.

After that, Looking Glass made a mix of flight simulators, golf games, and weird first-person games that took you to other worlds. System Shock put you on a space station. Thief let you do exactly what it said on the cover. Terra Nova was… well, read this piece on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. All of these games were fascinating and transformative, even if they had weirdly inaccessible control schemes.

Eventually, the studio died. Sony and Microsoft passed on buying them, Eidos made some poor financial decisions and couldn’t pay them. Talent moved off to other studios. Eventually, they shut down.

A few developers tried to carry the torch. Ken Levine’s Irrational games released Bioshock, which was like the bro shooter version of System Shock. Ion Storm Austin produced Thief 3 and two Deus Ex games. Bethesda’s work has become increasingly Looking Glass-influenced over the years. Clint Hocking’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Far Cry 2 clearly learned from Looking Glass’ games as well.

Over in France, a guy named Raphael Colantonio founded a studio called Arkane. They made a game heavily inspired by Ultima Underworld called Arx Fatalis. Then they made another one, called Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, using a Ubisoft license.

As game tech got better, simulation elements became more pronounced. The German Yerli brothers unsuccessfully pitched a neat dinosaur game, but eventually managed to convince Ubisoft to publish Far Cry and EA to publish Crysis. Their games are mostly known for their graphics tech, but I’ve always been fond of their intriguing stabs at realism; on its highest difficulty, Crysis’ enemies speak Korean, making it difficult for most players to understand their callouts. Crysis lets players use the game’s physics to enhance its combat, collapsing buildings on enemies or leveling foliage to give them access to easier sight lines. I wrote about one of my favorite levels here.

Bioshock brought the attention back, though. Even though it wasn’t very simulation heavy, it gave players that sense of presence that so many had been craving. Some developers stumbled; Far Cry 2 is beloved by game designers but wasn’t the critical or commercial success Ubisoft hoped. STALKER was one of the buggiest commercial games I’ve ever played, capable of crashing if you so much as blinked, so it didn’t sell as well as THQ would have liked, and GSC Game World sought a new publisher for Clear Sky, then shifted to yet another publisher for Call of Pripyat.

Fallout 3 had more simulation elements than most of its contemporaries and, I’d argue, did a better job presenting a living, breathing world than any other game of its generation, but people were too busy being mad that it wasn’t a classic isometric RPG to notice.

So, this is where my head was at when I entered into the world of immersive sims. I was fascinated by simulation elements, in love with the idea of exploring other worlds, and, most importantly of all: I needed an escape from my health. Immersive games, some of them sims, some of them not, provided the escape I craved.

In 2011, I downloaded the leaked demo of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I’d been mowing the lawn and was going to take a shower before sinking my teeth into it, but it was so engrossing that, before I knew it, five hours had passed and I’d played the entire thing. As soon as I scraped the cash together, I bought myself a copy. It was the first game I’d been able to afford in years.

I loved it.

The next year, Arkane roared back to life with Dishonored, which was one of my favorite games, not just because it’s really fucking good, not just because the world is fascinating and creative, not just because Harvey Smith, the man responsible for Deus Ex and Blacksite (he deserved better treatment from his publisher on that one; if they’d had more time, I think it would have been rightly hailed as a masterpiece; as it stands, it’s a fascinating thing that I love to pieces), partnered up with Arkane to make it, but because it helped me get my first writing gig.

If you wanna read my thoughts on Dishonored, check it out here.

And yet…

Something felt off.

Not about Dishonored, but about the conversation surrounding immersive design. I’d read posts by people who talked about the importance of design, who placed a weird focus on systems-driven design, who seemed to think that immersive games were stealth games and nothing but.

Before Dishonored and Human Revolution, I recall reading one of the foremost voices in immersive design discourse proclaiming the genre was dead because Looking Glass and Ion Storm had shut down. He argued, while Fallout 3 was selling millions of copies, that immersive sims were dead because they weren’t commercially viable. Many agreed with him.

After the apparent sales failings of Prey (Arkane), Dishonored 2, and Mankind Divided, I’ve heard those conversations picking up again.

I think they’re wrong, and I’d like to try to explain why.

I think a lot of the people who talk about immersive sims, focusing on immersive design and talking about what these games should be, tend to get hung up on Very Specific Details without looking at the bigger picture. Go watch the Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter pitch video, and you’ll hear Neurath talk about how important it is to solve problems logically. Go listen to a lot of the immersive sim fans talk about games, and you’ll hear them talking about… well, other things.

One thing I feel like I see a lot is an emphasis on stealth mechanics. That’s great! I love stealth games. But I’d argue that stealth is not an important part of immersive games. Some people have told me that they don’t think Bethesda games are immersive sims because the stealth in those games is nowhere near as in depth as Thief. Maybe, maybe, but here’s the thing:

I think you could make an immersive game where you’re 12 years old and you’re visiting your grandparents at their farm on an island somewhere, and the entire game is just about being a kid exploring a little seaside town and making new friends. I think you could catch fireflies and go to the library and go fishing and do all sorts of things on an island that feels just as alive as STALKER, without actually doing any stealth.

But if you go play Dishonored or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, or the Thief games, or whatever, you’re going to have the immersive sim community types talking about how important stealth is. Thief is good, but get over it. It’s just one manifestation of a broader genre. Stealth is GREAT. Dishonored so good I will buy any Dishonored game sight unseen. I would kill to get a job working for Arkane, even if it was like… as a janitor or something. I love those people and I love their games.

I think the emphasis on stealth is part of the reason a lot of these games have failed. I love stealth games for the same reason I love horror games; they’re high-intensity, high-stakes games that, when you play them well, make you feel like a real master. I’d also argue that stealth is exhausting. Maybe I’m more attuned to this than most due to the whole chronic fatigue thing, but like…

In a stealth game, success can feel like failure. You’re constantly feeling the pucker factor. If you are seen, you fail, even if the game doesn’t actually have an instant failure state. When I get seen in Dishonored, I have to fight. Fighting is really fun, but getting caught means I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to; I messed up. I’m a failure. A lot of stealth stuff ends up feeling like constantly being on edge and failing because you had to kill like 5 dudes who saw you. I played Hitman last night and every time I killed or choked out someone who saw me, I just wanted to start the whole thing over.

I’d argue that most people feel this way when playing stealth games. They don’t like the stress. A little stealth is nice, especially in a game like Far Cry 5 where you can approach a base with a sniper rifle and take out like 6 dudes without them noticing you, but getting into a firefight afterwards feels fun and purposeful too, so you get a nice mix of occasional stealth and action. I think that’s probably why Far Cry 5 is the best-selling video game of 2018 so far (Red Dead releases tomorrow).

I love that we’re making stealth games with immersive elements, but I think we’re making a mistake when we assume that immersive games must be stealthy ones. There are so many games that claim to learn from immersive games--Mark of the Ninja, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Wildfire, Quadrilateral Cowboy--and they do, but they’re also so very focused on stealth (the ones I’ve played are all among my favorite games, by the way! Please don’t think of this as a knock against them!). I can’t think of any game that claims to be influenced by immersive sims that doesn’t have stealth.

Stealth is a verb (short version: game design speak for ‘thing you can do’). It is not the genre.

Then there’s the whole “design” thing. Mario games are exceptionally designed. Each level is a unique, bespoke challenge, stacking mechanics on top of mechanics and helping you develop your mastery over the experience. This design comes at the expense of… well, I’ll get to that later. For now, I’ll just say that Mario Feels Like A Game.

That’s not a bad thing, but, like, you’ve got this for, so you know what I’m about. You can see why that might not appeal to me personally.

Buuuuuuut… a lot of the newer, like… I don’t know, it’s weird to call them “design-focused,” because all games are designed, a lot of these newer immersive sim type games seem focused on that kind of immaculate design. Walk into the bank in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and you’ll see The Person You Can Talk Your Way Past If You Have That Skill, you’ll see The Lasers You Can Sneak Past If You Can Turn Invisible, you’ll see The Vending Machine You Can Lift If You Have The Strength Ability, and you’ll see The Air Vent You Can Crawl Through To Get To The Computer You Can Hack If You’re A Hacker.

Mankind Divided will give you The Most Experience Points for playing this without being detected and without killing anyone.

Suddenly, you are incentivized to treat the game like a game because it is objectively better for you to approach all objectives in a specific way. Heck, in Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, after you’ve nonlethally subdued everyone in a room, you can hack all the computers (even if you have a password) and crawl through all the vents (though there’s no reason to) for Maximum Points. It… it makes no sense. You’re not trying to be a part of the world. The game rewards you for engaging with it on a level that must recognize the game as an illusion.

It’s not the only game. I loved Prey, but I got the sense that I was being graded as I played, which meant I started playing more to the game’s expectations of me rather than how I felt I ought to act. Look, I grew up in a family environment where people were sneaking up on me to see if I was acting righteously. I grew up in a church where I was paraded in front of two hundred kids and told that I had The Devil in me because my pottery had shattered in their shoddily-built kiln and destroyed most of the rest of the pottery. I am so fucking tired of being judged, so exhausted of having to act a specific way to avoid being treated like garbage, I don’t want games to do it to me too. I just want to act in a way that feels appropriate.

In Eidos Montreal’s immersive sim games (and most immersive games, for that matter), I felt like I was running into The Metroid School of Design, in which a player is unable to progress through a level without the right tool, with one key difference: there are multiple tools you can use to progress. Four routes into the same room, every room, all the time.

This creates a sense of artifice. When I see a bunch of chandeliers and mysterious, architecturally suspect vents that show me an obvious route through a map, I see the designer’s hand. I see that the designer has planned all these routes for me. They have planned for any eventuality. They want me to sneak my way through this room, regardless of the skills I have at my disposal.

I can play their game in just one way. I can ghost-stealth it perfectly and get The Good Ending, or I can Violence Through It and get less progress points and The Bad Ending. If I am a hacker, there will always be a door to hack. If I am a fighter, there will always be a man to fight.

Oh, sure, the best games will give you a dozen tools that can be combined in really interesting ways, but someone has figured out what all those tools are and designed each level to perfectly accommodate every. Single. tool.

Every level is a puzzle, and puzzles are designed by a human with the intent to solve them. You don’t need to be creative--heck, sometimes, being creative is actively discouraged--because all you need to do is figure out what the designer wanted you to do and do it. Ah, I have tools X, Y, and Z? I know exactly where I’m supposed to deploy them. See, there’s the path you can blink through and the door you can bypass with a specific tool or the fish you can possess to swim through.

And… I cannot stress this enough:

It’s not bad.

It’s good.

It’s very good. I fucking love these games. They mean the world to me. They do.

But can you see how that might not be what I was looking for, and how I feel that’s… quite a long way removed from what Looking Glass was trying to do? Instead of solving solutions in a natural way, these games have created very nice puzzle worlds. As someone who loves puzzles, this is wonderful, but as someone who loved what Looking Glass and STALKER were doing… I can’t help but feel my own needs and interests aren’t being met.

I mentioned I was playing Hitman. I love it. I love it to pieces. I just did a Suit Only, Silent Assassin run and it was thrilling. But, like… I knew the route the guy would take. I knew The Device that I could interact with to take him off his path. I didn’t feel like I was improvising; instead, I was looking at one of several dozen ways the designers had very carefully placed in my path.

I can see you, designer. I know you’re there.

I couldn’t see the designer in STALKER. Everything felt natural to me. I woke up in a bunk. I met Sidorovich. He asked me to run a job for him. On my way to the job, there were dead animals and a wounded Stalker. He asked me for a med kit. I gave him the med kit. He became my friend. I joined a few Stalkers and we took out a bandit camp.

This will happen in every playthrough. It has been designed. I get that. But it wasn’t like a designer came in shouting PLAY YOUR WAY, ALSO THIS IS A STEALTH GAME, right? I could take out that encampment however I wanted. The more I play, the more tools I find. Sometimes, they randomly pop out of an anomaly. Other times, I find them on the corpses of people who died in a brutal gunfight. In Clear Sky, the gun you wield in the opening cinematic can be found right where you left it. It’s broken, but you can find a man to repair it, and later, you can get ammo for it by eliminating high-level enemies.

If someone says “hey, please help me take out this facility,” that’s all the direction you have. How you take it out is up to you. Stealth it? Sure. Lead mutants to it? Absolutely. Come in under cover of night or rain? You bet. STALKER’s verbs might be limited, but the game itself is so much more flexible. Sneak in through a crack in the wall or charge the front gate.

You play your way, but “your way” doesn’t mean four skill trees, it means “here’s a real, tangible space, with no hint of the designer’s hand. This feels real, like it actually exists in the outskirts of Chernobyl. There are bad men inside. Go get them, using whatever tools you have available to you.”

STALKER feels natural.

In fact, if there was one word I’d use to describe my ideal immersive game, “natural.” Would be that word. When I play Far Cry 2, I am playing a Designed Game. This is the Friendly NPC Zone. There are no friendly NPCs outside it. You can safely kill everyone because they’re bad. Everyone hits hard, so it’s best to snipe them. Make sure to go to the safe house, which looks exactly like all the other safe houses (and has the exact same supplies plus one unique bonus gun) to engage The Buddy System™, recharging your Buddy Meter® so your Buddy® will come to your aid when you go down One Time. If you go down a second time, he will die. This is how it always happens. It will never deviate.

In STALKER, I was caught finding bandits when a man named Edik Dinosaur passed by. He and I had met on occasion on the road. Edik Dinosaur fought valiantly alongside me, because he hated bandits and he liked me. I accidentally shot him during the encounter. He died because of me. That was way more impactful than Far Cry 2’s Super Obvious Buddy System, you know?

It was like I was there. I had to grapple with a sense of guilt at shooting blindly into the brush after a fleeing bandit.

I remember a story of someone playing an old Zelda game, I think it was Ocarina of Time, when their mom walked in and asked them what they were doing. They explained that, to cross a bridge, they had to get some item to unlock it. “Why don’t you just chop down a tree to cross the river?” came the reply. The storyteller said they rolled their eyes at this and thought their mom was crazy, but later, they were like “actually, yeah, why can’t I do that?”

Breath of the Wild let players do just that. It was hailed as a brilliant new Zelda game and seems more beloved than… basically every Zelda game in decades? This is a game where you can shoot a fire arrow, watch the grass catch fire, and use the updrafts to fling yourself into the sky, which lets you drop down on top of your foes for a powerful melee attack.

I have my complaints with the game, which you can read here, but I’m fascinated by the way its overworld avoids just outright telling you how to play and letting you figure out how to solve the problems it presents to you. Instead of being A Puzzle Game, Breath of the Wild’s overworld feels like a stylized yet real space. Its people are alive. Its spaces are not clearly designed to be exploited by specific mechanics. The Designer’s Hand is invisible.

This brings me to Bethesda.

Yes, sure, if you’re an RPG fan, Bethesda probably isn’t going to make you a happy camper. The writing can be stupid at times. They let you do anything, even though the narrative acts as though you’re on an urgent mission. The modular system design makes the world feel super artificial, and you can exploit the game’s systems in dumb, unrealistic ways, like putting a bucket on a person’s head (the AI has no sense of personal space and doesn’t mind) so he can’t see you steal things, or you can craft a million daggers so you can be The Best At Blacksmithing or whatever.

But… the thing is, when I hop into a Bethesda world, it feels relatively real. While you have a lot of skills that make you better at playing specific ways, like Unarmed or Melee or Rifles or Handguns or whatever, you’re never walking into a fight and seeing Five Specific Tool-Driven Routes and deciding which tool is The Best One For The Job.

I feel like too many immersive sims are specifically stealth-driven games with immaculate designer-driven puzzles that give you a dozen different tools to use How You Want (but, hint hint, there are a few very clear routes).

Bethesda games give you a billion tools and let you loose in the world, much like STALKER does. You can shoot someone so much they become afraid of you and run away, but some people are less afraid than others and will fight you to the death. Take out a guy with a good gun, and his buddy will run over, pick it up, and use it against you unless you can get to him first. Approach this fort aggressively, sneak in, talk your way in, do whatever. It’s going to depend as much on who’s in the fort as it is on you. Heck, I think in Skyrim, if you’re wearing Imperial gear, you can walk into an Imperial fort without anyone realizing you’re not an Imperial.

Bethesda games let you play how you want in the moment.

They let you formulate a plan based on what you feel like doing, and sometimes, you’re going to find places you can’t take on because nobody bothered to design a way for a specific character build to attack. Come back later or get creative. It feels more natural than most immersive sims because it’s trying to be a real place, rather than an artfully designed one. Yeah, Bethesda games have rough edges. They do!

And yet… they are immensely successful, and I think it’s because they’re actually trying to send their players to other worlds. They’re not demanding you play stealthily, they’re not giving you the same routes so that every player can play One Specific Play Style. They’re bringing a world to life and letting you live in it. In Skyrim, I can go save the world and become the boss of the Magic College, or I can be a simple elk hunter, peddling my wares.

I guess where I’m at is… we saw one studio trying incredible things in games, and they went under through little fault of their own. Their successors didn’t find the smashing success that the enthusiasts think they deserve, but I think that’s because… well… a lot of the enthusiasts are just looking at one or two games on the spectrum and refusing to make anything else. I think so many of the genre’s fans have a very limited, very specific view of what the genre can be, which is why none of them have managed to recapture the glory of Looking Glass; they’re not making the kind of games Looking Glass was, no matter how much they claim that they are.

There’s too much artifice in the inheritors.

Bethesda’s out there making billions of dollars because their games live up to the Looking Glass ideal more than anything else out there. These other games, this other design philosophy, it’s great. I love it. It’s wonderful and beautiful and fascinating, but when I see people arguing that “nobody wants immersive games,” because those games didn’t break sales records, I want to scream “how would you know? You’ve made something else!”

STALKER sold like 6 million copies. Skyrim’s up at like… what, 20 million now? Breath of the Wild has sold a bajillion copies. Red Dead Redemption 2 is poised to be the second best-selling game of 2018 after Black Ops IIII. Grand Theft Auto V made a billion billion dollars and it’s got some of the most sophisticated immersion elements in video games. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is one of the “could this realistically work?” games out there and it made a ton of cash. When you make a game that’s really about existing in a living, breathing world, you can make a shitload of cash.

When you make a stealth game with a lot of Specific Tools and Obvious Routes, you’re making a great video game, but you aren’t making an immersive one. That’s okay, but please don’t argue that we should stop making immersive games because your model didn’t work. The immersive model is thriving. You just made something else.

I just want to escape to other worlds.

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eldritchsurveys · 6 years

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151.

What would you do, if you encountered a Dalek? >> I have no idea. I haven’t watched nearly enough Doctor Who to know the proper thing to do in case of Dalek.

Do you enjoy good food or do you prefer to constantly watch what you eat? >> I definitely choose my food based on taste and enjoyment as well as nutritional value; it’s basically a good thing that I gravitate towards more nutritionally robust food naturally, because otherwise I’d probably be in the same boat as a lot of people (letting nutrition fall by the wayside in pursuit of That Good-Food Feel). It’s an understandable boat to be in and I don’t begrudge people their junkfood/fast-food habits at all.

Is there any snow where you live? And where do you live, exactly? >> Not right now, thank god.

Are you excited that spring is on its way? >> It isn’t.

Is there a website you frequent the most? >> I guess this one.

What would you most likely do, if your computer suddenly froze? >> If it BSODs, then I just let it do its thing (it restarts itself in that case). If it just freezes in place, then I wait a minute and if nothing happens (and I can’t get a response from Ctrl-Alt-Del or anything else), force a restart with the power button.

Which OS (operating system) are you using? >> Windows 10.

Have you ever seen the inside of a computer? If yes, can you name any of the components? >> Yeah, because I open it up to clean the fan out every so often. I can point out a few of the components, but not all of them.

What is your favourite gaming console/system? >> I prefer PC gaming.

If you only had one week to live, what would you do? >> I don’t know. I can’t imagine that situation.

Do you know what IRC is? >> Vaguely.

If you were stranded on an island, what one object would you want with you? >> I mean... I’m just gonna say a ship. I know that also comes with complications (no crew, etc), but I’m not really in the mood to be serious about it.

How often do you listen to music? >> Pretty often.

If you could get a new phone right now, would you/which kind? >> I’d really rather not.

Have you ever cut your own hair? >> I cut my own hair regularly.

Could you live without a TV? >> Sure.

Back to the very first question, do you even know what a Dalek is? >> More or less.

Is there someone special in your life? >> There are several.

Do you want to get married one day? >> It’s in the plan, either way.

Is anyone close to you pregnant right now? >> No.

Do you want children? If yes, how many and why? If not, why not? >> One would be fine, I suppose.

If you could spend the rest of your life with someone, who would it be? >> Sparrow.

What is the most important thing in your life? >> I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it like that.

What would be your dream job? >> None.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grow up? Do you still want to be that? >> I had some vague ideas, but nothing serious.

What is your biggest dream? >> I don’t have one.

What are some of the things on your Bucket List? >> I don’t keep a bucket list.

Do you have any pets? If yes, what? If not, why not? >> No. Sparrow has a cat and that’s quite enough, tbh.

If you could go anywhere in the whole world, where would you like to go? >> Anywhere, I suppose. I’m not picky.

What has been the worst thing that's happened to you? >> I don’t know.

If you had the chance, would you start your life entirely over? >> No. That concept gives me the hives.

What is your view on abortion? >> I support legalised abortion.

What about birth control? >> I support free/affordable birth control.

Over-population? >> I am not knowledgeable enough about ecology and biodiversity and related disciplines to know exactly how dire human overpopulation is.

Racism? >> I think it’s absurd and I am quite tired of dealing with it.

Homophobia? >> Ditto.

Bullying? Have you ever been bullied yourself or have you bullied someone? >> I was bullied as a child. I think it will continue to be a problem until adults start taking it seriously (and focus more on teaching compassion and consequences for anti-social behaviour rather than teaching bullied children that “bullying just happens and you should just ignore it”).

What do you think of people, who choose NOT to have children? >> I think that’s great, and they should have their choice respected.

Do you think euthanasia (assisted suicide) is acceptable? If not, why not? >> I do think it’s acceptable.

What about suicide? If not, why not? >> I think that’s ultimately acceptable too, as a fact of existence -- obviously that’s a loaded answer, and I’m not at all suggesting people just kill themselves, but I don’t think it helps anyone (including suicidal people) to stigmatise it. If someone’s pain is so great that they can’t imagine living with it, then that’s something that deserves attention -- if their pain is unable to be mitigated, then what do you suggest they do, keep living with it for the sake of other people? It’s just... such a complicated issue.

Do you know anyone with a severe mental illness? >> Yes.

What is your view on teenage pregnancy? >> I don’t have an opinion. It happens, and the teens in question should be supported in their time of need instead of kicked out of their homes and burdened with guilt and shame.

What about sex before marriage? >> Fine with me.

In your opinion, what is the ideal age to start having sex? >> I don’t have an opinion on this.

What about the ideal age to start drinking? >> Or this.

What do you think of smoking? >> I don’t really think about it. It’s just another thing we humans do.

What about people, who listen to their mp3-players in public? >> Most people use headphones, so it’s fine.

Are you afraid of global warming? If yes, why? If not, why not? >> I’m not afraid of climate change, because it’s difficult for me to conceptualise in the long-term. But I understand the anxiety.

Do you believe the world will end in 2012? Why/why not? >> Hah!

Aren't surveys, that ask favourites, this'n'that etc. questions, annoying? >> No.

Aren't you just as tired as me writing all your basic info in surveys? >> No.

What's the most important factor for you when choosing a survey to take? >> Whether I’ve taken it in recent memory.

Have you ever made a fool of yourself in front of someone you like? If yes, what did you do? >> I mean, maybe at some point, but I sure don’t remember it now. As it goes.

Don't you think that sunglasses they sell today look ridiculous? >> No.

What is something that annoys you very, very much? >> The super-bass some people have in their vehicles. I can feel it in my bones and that’s an experience I’d rather choose to have (like at a concert), not have forced upon me.

Do you like long car rides? If yes, what makes them fun? If not, why not? >> I used to like them a lot more, but now I get really antsy and stifled-feeling after a while (especially if the windows are closed). I’m just not as used to the long car ride experience anymore.

Have you ever been on a plane? If yes, where did you go? If not, why not? >> Yes, quite a few times.

Have you ever been on a cruise ship? If yes, how many times? If not, why haven't you? >> No. Because it’s not affordable and I don’t regard it as a priority anyway.

Do you know any of your neighbours? >> No.

Do you ever shop online? If yes, which stores? >> Sure, Etsy and Amazon and the like. Sometimes other places.

Are there any animals or insects that absolutely scare you? >> Probably, but I can’t think of any right now.

If you could have absolutely anything right now, what would you want? >> I’m fine.

What is the most stupid thing you have ever heard anybody say? >> I don’t know.

Are you allergic to anything? >> Nope.

Have you ever done anything that would be considered illegal? >> Yep.

Did you ever go to kindergarten? >> I did, for half a year. (I started out in pre-K at the typical age, and then halfway through the year they were like “this kid is too advanced for pre-K so we’ll just bump them up to the kindergarten class now” and that’s how I ended up being consistently younger than my peers for the rest of my school career.)

Did you/do you like school? When did you/will you graduate? >> I did not enjoy school. I graduated in 2004.

How do you handle a situation you desperately want to get out of? >> It really depends on the situation. For most of them I just find my way out (I’ve definitely straight-up walked out of places before, in the middle of things, because I couldn’t deal with it.)

Who is the weirdest person you have ever met? >> I don’t know.

Would you say your family is ordinary or somehow crazy? >> I don’t know how ordinary they are. I will say, if they’re ordinary, then that’s pretty depressing.

If a stranger asked for money, would you give them any? >> Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

What do you think of 90s girl- and boybands? >> I like some of them.

What about today's pop music? >> I like some of it.

Do you enjoy any form of art? >> Of course.

What would be absolutely the worst job ever? >> I don’t know.

Do you need a daily caffeine fix? >> No.

Are you a Pepsi or a Coca-Cola person? >> Neither.

Are you a cake or a bisquit (cookie) person? >> Neither.

Do you see the positive or the negative side of things mostly? >> I’m more inclined to optimism than pessimism, unless I’m depressed.

Do you ever boycott anything popular? >> No.

Do you still live with your parents or have you flown out of the nest? If you've flown out of the nest, when did you move out from home? >> I left home the first time at 17, and officially left at 18.

Do you live on your own or with someone else/do you share a room? >> I live with Sparrow.

How old is the eldest member of your family? >> I don’t know, probably in their mid-eighties or early nineties.

Who in your entire family do you get along with the best? >> ---

Do you enjoy reading books? >> Yes.

Or do you prefer magazines? >> I also like those, I just read them much less frequently.

What do you think is the biggest waste of time? >> I don’t know, I don’t really think of things like that.

What is the most disgusting thing you've eaten? >> I’m not sure. Hospital food? Ha. (The two hospitals I stayed in in North Carolina had pretty good food for being hospitals, though, I must say.)

Do you still have any of the stuffed animals you had as a child? >> Nope. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to still have stuff from childhood.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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ozzdog12 · 7 years

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2017- Top 7 (And 1)

Well as another year closes, so does another fantastic year in gaming. In fact, this could be one of the best in history!! You may say, Why only a Top 7 and there are two reasons. 1: Everyone does a Top 10 or Top 20, but nobody does just 7. It also makes the list more prestigious 2: I’m lazy.

But I do give my biggest disappointment

Well lets get on with it.

Biggest Disappointment: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

Now I know you’re shocked and you’re saying things like “ This list is shit! BotW is the GOTY!” or “WHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT how?!?!” Let me explain. I don’t have the nostalgia for Nintendo that a majority of people have, so I can give a pretty non-biased opinion when it comes to Nintendo games. BotW is a decent game, but its not without its faults. Actually it’s a really bad Zelda game and an even worse ‘Open-World’ game. It’s an open world game made by people who haven’t played one in a decade. However, most alarming is the story, or lack thereof. I know part of the charm in Zelda games is creating your own adventure, but I found almost zero motivation, especially in the early hours to even progress forward. BotW is vastly different from previous Zelda games and takes a lot of risks. Some paid and most didn't. The game is gorgeous for a launch game and being able to play it both on my tv and ‘on the go’ is also a huge plus. The biggest complaint though is the controls are complete ass ( NOTE: I did not play it with a Pro controller, but I understand its much better) I get that with the way the controller is designed you're limited to certain buttons, but some of the controls are so counter-intuitive, that I constantly found myself looking or thinking about which button did what rather than naturally doing it ( I’ve been playing videogames for 25 years, so its not a user error, its a design error). All in all, its a Fine game and a lot of people love it, but its not the best game of the year.. it’s not even the best game on the system….

Number 7: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (PS4)

Hellblade could be on this list for its impeccable sound design alone. Seriously, play this game in the dark with a good headset. While there is combat, the game is not predicated on heavy combat, its more about the deeply personal story told with a Norse mythology backdrop.The puzzles are simple, but unique. The game also looks incredible.The voice acting is superb. In a gaming environment littered with so many open-world games, a well-designed, linear story-driven game is great palette cleanser. Seriously, check this game out.

Number 6: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Xbox One)

This is in no way a political post, but in the current state of the United States, a game about killing Nazis is so refreshing. It also helps that its actually a really great game. While I do think The New Order is a more meaty, complete story and game, The New Colossus has more jaw dropping “HOLY SHIT!” & “WTF!” moments than any game I’ve played in the last 7-8 years.The game knows what it is and it excels greatly. The game takes some really creative plot twists. BJ isn’t just some standard FPS goon that murders Nazis ( well HE is that too, but you learn more about his past and find a very human side to him). Its also go violent and so satisfying taking an ax to the face of a Nazi. MY biggest gripe is right when the game really starts hitting its stride, it just sort’ve ends. You can go back and revisit previous locations to take of Ubercommanders, but unless you just want more of the same, there is no real incentive to so. I’m really looking forward a 3rd(4th?) chapter in this Wolfenstein story.

Number 5: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

I’m not the biggest Mario fan and like I said above, I don’t have the nostalgia for Nintendo. As a person, who thinks Mario 64 is way over-rated and is a sub-par game, but loves Mario Galaxy, my biggest concern going in was that this was going to be more like 64. To my surprise, after getting used to the sensitivity of the controls, I found my self REALLY enjoying the game and constantly looking for moons to collect, even when I had enough to move on to the next world.The game is set up in a way to encourage you to revisit worlds even after you’ve beaten the game. I found it to be relatively short for a Mario game, but honestly there is enough there even if you don’t want to 100% the game. Cappy is a new and fresh introduction to Mario that the franchise really needed.

Number 4: Prey (XBONE)

Man I have to admit something about Prey. I played the demo and didn’t like it. Finally played the full game and for the first 2 hours thought it was kinda dull, but I knew there was something there and I kept on playing and boy am I glad I did. Prey is THE BEST game seemingly nobody played. I fault a lot of that to the failure to market it correctly. Prey is such a unique experience and a game that is so different from anything our there, it has to be played to fully comprehend it. In terms of gameplay, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it’s one of those games that when I wasn’t playing, it’s all I thought about. When I was playing, I just wanted to explore every nook and corner within Talos 1. It also has one of the most unique endings/twist to a game I've experienced in a long time. I don’t want to dwell on too much because I’ll ramble into spoiler territory but do yourself a favor and PLAY this game!

Number 3: Injustice 2 (PS4)

As a massive DC fan and a massive Mortal Kombat, I was hotly anticipating I2, I was a little concerned with the gear system prior to release fearing it would cause imbalance (especially online) but it didn’t for the most part. In a gaming world, where loot boxes are all the rage, I think NRS handled it fairly well. At the end of the day, I wish it was all just cosmetic because i rarely looked at the stat boost and just went with what i liked cosmetically. The story picks up following the events of the first game. Its also very odd to me that NRS can make a better, more compelling story than Warner Bros can with their movies…but I digress. There are plethora of new and returning characters and all are different enough to fit your fighting preference. Some characters i would’ve preferred over others, but all in all, I think its a very impressive roster. With different towers/multiverses rotating in various intervals, its a significant upgrade to the S.T.A.R labs challenges from the previous game. I put in over 100 hours and thats even before all the DLC characters are out.

Number 2: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)

Being that Uncharted is one of my favorite gaming franchises, this should be no surprise. Goodbye Nathan Drake, Hello supporting cast! With Nathan Drakes adventures ‘completed”, I am all for more Uncharted with side stories for supporting cast. (Young Sully next please). Chloe (being absent from Uncharted 4) and Nadine (being a villain in Uncharted 4) is an interesting tag team set up. Personalities clash and deception and lying is ever present as you’d expect. As per the status quo from Naughty Dog, the game is graphically top notch and the mo-cap and voice acting is superb. There are several nods to previous games and even an appearance by a certain character. The game is shorter than previous Uncharted games and its honestly the perfect length for this style of story an price tag. More Uncharted is always a good thing!

Honorable Mentions: Pyre(PC), & Metroid: Samus Returns(3DS)

Number 1: Horizon Zero Dawn(PS4)

Man, what can I say about HZD that hasn’t been covered before. From the first trailer I saw, I had an expectation of what I wanted from this game and its surpassed it ten fold. An achievement in and of itself these days. There are a lot of great open -world games out there, but one of the biggest issues with all this open-world-ness is that story gets dumbed down or sacrificed ( see Breath of the Wild). Horizon Zero Dawn has a really great story that keeps you going adn trying to figure out “What is Zero Dawn?” Trying to uncover all the little secrets is so much fun, the collectibles make you explore this gigantic world. The (post-apocalyptic) )world never feels empty or barren ( unless that was the intention) Even the side quests feel meaningful for the most part. There is a lot going on in this game, but its all organized and presented together well. My one gripe is that the game doesn't do a great job of telling you the differences and benefits to certain ammo types, you’re basically left to figure it out on your own. Fighting robot dinosaurs never gets old and with the addition of The Frozen Wilds, you get 3 new creatures and they are brutal as ever. Every fight with a Thunderjaw or a group of Scorchers feels meaningful and satisfying even when you hit level 60. While I don’t think its fair to compare Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, they are often compared ad nauseum. I will say that in my opinion HZD did almost everything better than BotW in the things they both tried to accomplish. Horizon Zero Dawn is not only my favorite game on 2017, its made its way into my Top 5 favorite games of All-Time!

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nehakukreti · 4 years

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How to Speed Up Your Mac

Is your Mac running slower than a sloth? Are you missing the days of lighting-fast computing? All computers slow down gradually with time, but you don’t have to put up with it — learn how to speed up your Mac with our comprehensive guide right here.

Why your Mac is running slow

Before we learn how to make your Mac run faster, it’s helpful to determine why your Mac is getting slow. The age of your machine and how much you use it has some effect, but that doesn’t explain everything. There are many possible causes for a slow Mac, so let’s try to identify the reasons why it’s happening before we troubleshoot.

Why is my Mac running slow? It could be due to:

Insufficient RAM: If your computer doesn’t have enough short-term memory (RAM), it will struggle to complete everyday tasks like running programs and browsing the internet.

Full hard drive: To compensate for low short-term memory, your computer is forced to store things on the hard drive. If it’s chock-full of apps and large files, there won’t be enough space left to help apps and other processes run. And if you’re using a hard disk drive (HDD), lack of space means you can’t defrag your disk to help boost performance.

Out-of-date software: Apple generally produces new macOS versions because the newer versions run faster and better. The same applies to most apps and programs. If you’re running old versions, they could very well be slowing you down.

Too many startup programs and background processes: You may have apps that start automatically every time you boot up your system and/or run quietly in the background while you work on other tasks. These unnecessary processes can eat up precious CPU power and RAM.

Visual effects: macOS contains a lot of visual effects that can be taxing on older Mac computers, draining your battery and slowing you down.

Slow internet connection: If your browsing and video streaming are too slow or stuttering, the problem might not be your Mac at all — it may be caused by a slow internet connection.

Age and overuse: If you’re still rocking a 2004 MacBook, or if you constantly use lots of process-heavy apps like video editors or games on an older machine, your computer is going to be a little worse for the wear.

» Check your internet speed

Before we dive into our top ten ways to speed up macOS, let’s check your internet speed. Go to www.speedtest.net and run their test — it only takes a few seconds!

If you’re not getting fast enough speeds, try our favourite methods for boosting your home Wi-Fi signal. If you’re still struggling with slow speeds after that, it’s time to call your internet service provider to see what’s going on and whether they can fix it on their end.

Once you’ve determined that your internet service isn’t the issue, then it’s time to jump into our tips to speed up macOS.

1. Install any updates

Are you one of the many people always clicking “Remind me tomorrow” on update notifications? No judgement here, but by delaying your updates, you may have delayed your speed as well. Older versions of Mac operating systems and other apps tend to slow down over time. And as annoying as updates are, the developers wouldn’t bother you with them unless your software would be actually, well, updated. Updated versions will include fixed bugs, updated security, and better resource utilization.

Long ago, new system updates on older Mac devices slowed down performance. Apple has since corrected the issue, and new updates should be lean and mean. They focus on trimming down unnecessary features and making sure your Mac runs its best.

Here’s how to update your Mac:

To check if you need to update, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your desktop.

Click on System Preferences… to see if there’s a macOS update. If there is, click Update.

Make sure to check the box to keep your system updated automatically.

Your computer will take some time to update your system, and will then need to restart.

If you have outdated apps, you should update those as well. Click the Apple again, and select App Store… if you see that there are updates available.

The App Store will then display all the apps you own that have possible updates, including the reason they should be updated — such as “bug fixes” or “stability and performance improvements.”

Click on the individual app you want to update and follow the instructions. If you see apps you don’t actually use here, skip to the next section to get rid of them.

2. Uninstall unused apps

Do you know how many apps you have on your computer that you’re not even using? These large programs can take up lots of space and bog you down, and they may be another reason why your Mac is running slow. Luckily, the process to remove them isn’t too onerous. Here’s how to uninstall apps:

Open Finder and select Applications.

Find the little grid icon and select Date Last Opened.

Scroll down to the bottom to find apps you haven’t used in a long time. Select the app you want to delete.

Drag the app to your Trash to uninstall it, and then make sure to empty the Trash.

Boom! Now the app is off your computer, where it can no longer eat up your space or CPU power. Repeat the process to get rid of other apps you no longer use. And don’t worry; you can always download the app again from the App Store if you find yourself missing it later.

Not sure which apps will give you the most bang for your buck, space-wise? Let’s find out which programs take up the most space and power on your system.

» Find and disable the most power-hungry processes

Let’s dig a little deeper and see what’s really dragging your Mac down.

Open Finder, click Go and then select Utilities.

Select Activity Monitor, which will show you a variety of information about your system and device performance.

Click the tab for CPU at the top. Your central processing unit is what computes everything you do. If it gets bogged down by a resource-hungry process, it’ll slow everything else down.

Click the arrow on % CPU to sort by the highest percentage.

Here you can see what’s taking up the most computing power. Some tasks can’t be stopped, such as those necessary for vital computing functions. Check the User column. Anything listed as _windowserver or root cannot be disabled. Instead, look for apps that are listed under your username.

Look for anything that consumes 5–10% of CPU usage.

Here YouTube is consuming 4.4% of CPU power, which is a lot. You can easily get those resources back by closing YouTube. If the app tries to resist, click Force Quit.

If you see any processes on this list that you aren’t familiar with, it’s best to Google them before deleting — make sure it’s nothing important before you give it the boot.

Check out the other tabs in the Activity Monitor: Memory, Energy (aka battery life), Disk, and Network to see what apps or processes are taking up other valuable resources.

Check Energy to see which of your apps are taking up the most of your power. Sort by 12 hr Power to see which apps have used the most power in the last half a day.

If you see anything that’s taking up a lot of power, avoid using it when you want faster speeds for other priorities on your Mac.

If you check regularly and find out that a single app is taking up way too much power, uninstall it using the steps above.

» Remove malicious software

It’s a myth that Macs can’t get viruses. Just like PCs, Macs are susceptible to malicious software, or malware. Historically, hackers focused more of their efforts on PCs simply because there are many more Windows machines in use than Macs. But lately, more and more cybercriminals are turning their efforts towards Apple. Rogue code can get onto your system, damage performance, slow you down, and steal your sensitive data.

Check out our ultimate guide to Mac security and remove anything nefarious that might be lurking underneath your machine’s hood. Then equip your Mac with AVG AntiVirus FREE for Mac to make sure you stay protected against hackers, rogue code, and the growing number of other Mac malware threats out there.

Download AVG AntiVirus FREE for Mac

3. Remove unwanted files

Files can also take up a lot of space and memory, and a cluttered Mac can experience unresponsive apps and reduced disk space. What kind of files might be taking up space on your Mac?

Movies and TV shows you’ve already watched.

Blurry and duplicate photos: Do you tend to take five shots of everything, trying to get the perfect angle? You probably don’t need all of these hanging around.

Temporary files: macOS and other apps create temporary data and thousands of cache files during their necessary running process, and they don’t delete these excess files once they’re no longer needed.

Files in Trash: The files still exist until you actually empty out the Trash.

All of these can really add up and bog you down. That’s why removing unnecessary files can fix a slow-running Mac. Let’s start with tracking down your largest files and documents.

Open up Finder and hit Command + F to open up a search window.

Click on the Kind menu and select Other.

Scroll down through the options and find File Size; check the blue box on the right.

Back on the Search screen, make sure you select to search This Mac. To the right of File Size, go to the next drop-down menu and select is greater than. Then type in a number, such as 100, and select MB from the last drop-down menu.

You can now see the biggest items on your system, including apps and large files.

Now you can go through every item one by one and move everything you no longer want or need into the trash.

Make sure to empty the Trash so the files actually get removed.

Depending on how many old files and apps you’ve been hoarding, this process can take longer than Frodo’s quest to Mordor. Not only that, but this process doesn’t even cover all the temporary data and cache files that macOS and other apps leave behind as they run. Even if you could find all those files yourself (which are scattered all across your hard drive in difficult-to-find folders), they would accumulate again after just a few days of normal computer use.

The best, easiest, and fastest way to track down all the junk on your Mac is to use a dedicated cleanup tool. And we happen to have just the thing for that: AVG TuneUp for Mac. Here’s how to use it to scour your machine for all the junk you no longer need, then whip your machine into shape.

Download AVG TuneUp for Mac by clicking the button above.

Complete the installation process.

On the main dashboard, under Clean Clutter, click SCAN.

AVG TuneUp will show you just how much-hidden clutter is lurking in your system.

Hit CLEAN to get rid of these unnecessary application caches, log files, and trash!

Go back to the main dashboard and click SCAN under Find Duplicates. This scan will detect all of the duplicate files that you have saved accidentally. It’ll give you the option to scan just your user folder, your whole hard drive, and even your external storage. Note that scanning entire disks can take a while.

Once the scan finishes, review the list of duplicates and remove whatever you no longer need.

Back on the main dashboard again, click FIND under Find photos that are bad or similar. Select all the locations where you have photos stored.

It’ll scan your computer thoroughly and sort photos you might want to get rid of into two categories: bad photos and similar photos. Click Review and then Compare these to see your photos (nothing will be deleted unless you specify!).

Select all the photos you no longer want and click REMOVE.

Now that you have AVG TuneUp, you can choose your settings for automatic maintenance so your Mac stays fresh, clean, and speedy!

» Clean up your desktop

Your desktop screen can easily get cluttered. Depending on your settings, any screenshots you take will end up right here. Downloads and other files, icons, and widgets may be stuck on your desktop too. Desktop items reside inside your RAM (short-term memory), taking up valuable resources that your Mac could be using for other tasks. A cluttered desktop consuming lots of RAM could be another cause for why your Mac is running slow.

Having a few things on your desktop is unlikely to have a significant impact. But if you have hundreds of icons, pictures, movies, etc. stored on your desktop, you can see an increase in performance and speed by cleaning things up. That’s especially true if you don’t have much RAM to spare.

Go to your crowded desktop. Right-click (or click with two fingers) and select New Folder.

Name your new folder anything you want, such as Files from Desktop.

Hit COMMAND + A to select everything.

Hold down COMMAND and click on the new folder to deselect it.

Drag all of your highlighted files into the new folder.

Drag the folder into your Documents folder in the sidebar.

Enjoy your clean new desktop!

» Move your photos to iCloud and adjust other storage settings

As mentioned, photos are some of the largest files, and today’s smartphones make it very easy to amass a large photo library. But having too many files can quickly fill up your storage capacity and slow down your Mac.

If you aren’t willing to part with any of your photos, a good solution is to move them into the cloud. That way your photos will be saved and accessible, but they won’t take up space on your system. Here’s how to host your photos in iCloud.

Click the Apple icon and select About this Mac.

Click the Storage tab, and then select Manage…

Here you’ll see a few options of how to increase space on your Mac.

Click Store in iCloud… and then you’ll choose exactly what you want to store.

Optimize storage settings

Back on the previous screen, you also have options to optimize file storage.

Optimize Storage: Hit Optimize… This will save space by getting rid of TV shows and movies that you’ve already watched on Apple TV and iTunes. (You can download them again later if you want.)

Empty Trash Automatically: Click Turn on… When you put files into Trash, they don’t actually get deleted until you remember to empty it. This setting allows you to have all files left in trash for longer than 30 days removed automatically.

Reduce Clutter: Click Review and you’ll be able to see large files you have saved in Documents, Applications, Music, and Music Creation. You can sort through and delete whatever large files you no longer need.

4. Empty caches

When you browse the web, your browser stores pieces of the web pages into the cache, which helps things like images load faster the next time you want to see them. Other apps store things in caches as well, such as photo and video editors that retain temporary data. Even Apple’s own apps, like Spotlight and Maps, create cache data, but these tend to be small enough that you don’t need to worry about them.

When your cache builds up with excess data from apps or other programs, that may be yet another reason why your Mac is running slow. Clearing your browser cache will help it run faster and make sure you aren’t viewing any outdated content. While you’re at it, you can clear out your browser cookies as well. And clearing out the photo and video editor caches can free up additional space in your system, which will in turn help speed up your Mac.

Let’s clear out your browser cache in Safari first.

Click on Safari and then hit Preferences.

Click Advanced and then tick the box for Show Develop menu in the menu bar.

Develop will now be an option on the Safari menu bar; click it and select Empty Caches.

Click it and you’re good to go!

Now let’s clear out your system and user (also called application) caches. Note that this isn’t necessary unless you have a lot of large files cached, such as those from a photo or video editors. Before we get started, make sure you have a current backup saved on your Mac. When you go messing around in your caches, you could break something if you’re not careful. Let’s clear out the user cache first.

Open up Finder and hit Go, then Go to Folder...

A window will pop up. Type in /Users/[your username]/Library/Caches and hit Go.

You’ll now see all the user or application caches saved on your system. You can drag anything you don’t need to the Trash and then empty it.

Again, be careful not to delete anything you might need.

To clear out the system cache, navigate again to Finder > Go> Go to folder… and then type in ~/Library/Caches/.

You’ll see your system cache and can delete what you wish by dragging it to the Trash and then emptying the trash.

Again, be careful not purge anything that might be important. Because that can be a little tricky to determine, we recommend you use a dedicated cleaning tool, such as AVG TuneUp, that helps you safely remove all the junk while keeping anything essential.

5. Cut down on startup programs

Many apps are programmed to start automatically as soon as you boot up your computer, but they often aren’t necessary and can negatively impact your speed from the moment the system is switched on. You can choose to limit your startup programs to just the essentials.

Click the Apple icon in the top left and then open System Preferences.

Choose Users & Groups.

Select Login Items. Here you can see all the programs that start automatically and disable the ones you don’t need.

Click the lock and enter your password to make changes.

To find even more hidden startup items, click finder and then Go.

With the Go menu open, hold down the OPTION key on your keyboard. This will make a new option, Library, appear in the list — click it.

Scroll down the list of folders and select LaunchAgents. Here you’ll see apps and processes that are set to launch automatically upon startup.

If you see anything you don’t need, delete it! (If you’re not sure what something is, Google it before you get rid of it.)

6. Turn off visual effects

Visual effects — such as animations, transitions, and icons bouncing around — aren’t really necessary. They can negatively impact your performance, especially if you have an older iMac or MacBook. You can easily boost your speed a few notches by disabling visual effects like this:

Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences. Then click on Accessibility.

Once you’re in Accessibility, click on the Display tab. Check the box for Reduce motion.

Done! This will especially make a difference in speed for older Macs.

7. Rebuild your Spotlight index

Your Mac’s performance can take a nosedive if Spotlight indexing gets stuck. This may happen after you apply a major macOS update. If you notice that Spotlight search isn’t working properly, here’s how to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac.

Click the Apple icon, select System Preferences, and click on Spotlight.

On the Spotlight screen, click Privacy.

Hit the + sign and select a folder or disk that needs to be indexed again into the white box.

Once it’s there, click on the folder and then click the — sign at the bottom. That’s it!

8. Try an SSD

Are you still working with an out-of-date hard disk drive (HDD)? Switching to a solid-state drive (SSD) will give you a huge jump in performance, including speed. The difference between an HDD and an SSD is significant: when loading data and programs, you’ll go from 100 MB per second all the way up to 3,500 MB per second. SSDs are cheaper than ever, so getting one is one of the best ways to upgrade your Mac.

9. Upgrade your RAM memory

Another hardware adjustment you can make is to upgrade your RAM (your short-term memory). RAM is your computer’s working memory, where it computes all temporary tasks you do, like using apps, checking your email, and browsing the internet. If you have less than 4 GB of RAM, you could easily be overtaxing your system.

Even normally daily computing like using Facebook, Youtube, and email can take up a lot of short-term memory. If you use more than your device’s capacity, your operating system is forced to move something you’re not currently using into long-term memory (your hard disk) for a time — and then when you switch back to that app, your computer needs to retrieve that data all the way from the hard drive. This process is called paging or swapping, and it takes a lot of extra time, slowing down your overall performance.

So how powerful does your computer really need to be? The short answer is that it depends on how you use it. If you have a larger RAM capacity, your computer can keep more apps and processes running in your short-term memory, which eliminates delays. Depending on what your current capacity is, you can make a big difference by upgrading your RAM.

If you have less than 4 GB of RAM and you’re a normal computer user (web browsing, email, Office or Google applications, etc.) you should upgrade to at least 4 GB.

If you do a lot of multitasking, video and photo editing, or light gaming, you’ll want to upgrade to at least 8 GB of RAM.

If you’re a heavy gamer, a programmer, or a video editor by profession, we’d recommend 16+ GB of RAM.

Unlike PCs, Macs aren’t as personally configurable, but upgrading RAM is usually possible. See Apple’s support pages for their official guidance on upgrading MacBooks, Mac Pro, or iMac.

10. Reset SMC and PRAM

Sometimes an easy fix is all you need. Your Mac’s System Management Controller (SMC) controls its basic functions like managing hardware, Wi-Fi connection, and power. Its Parameter Random Access Memory (PRAM) manages essential settings such as performance information, your audio volume, and keyboard lighting. If things are out of whack on your Mac, a quick reset of the SMC and PRAM should help right the ship, no matter if you have a MacBook Pro, Macbook Air, or something else.

Resetting your SMC varies a bit depending on what type of Mac you have:

For Macs with a non-removable battery: Turn off your MacBook. Hold down SHIFT + CONTROL + OPTION and the power button and hold for ten seconds. Then reboot your Mac normally.

For MacBooks with a removable battery: Turn off your MacBook, unplug the cord, and take the battery out. Hold the power button for five seconds. Then reinsert the battery, plug your MacBook in, and restart it.

For Mac Minis, Mac Pros, and iMacs: Shut your Mac down and unplug it. Wait 20 seconds, and then plug it in and restart. That’s it!

Resetting your PRAM is the same on all Macs. Here’s how to do it: Shut down your Mac. Hold down COMMAND + OPTION + P until your Mac restarts. Then you’re done!

Boost your Mac’s performance the easy way

If you followed all the steps in our guide, you can see that it might take you a significant amount of time to properly clean your Mac from top to bottom. And after you do it, a lot of temporary files and other junk will quickly return during the process of normal computer use.

The best way to speed up your Mac in the long term is to use a special Mac cleaning tool like AVG TuneUp for Mac. It’ll hunt down background processes, startup items, cache files, temporary files, duplicate photos, and anything else that may be slowing you down. Not only that, but you’ll also get automatic maintenance with the touch of a button so your Mac stays a lean, mean, speedy machine.

from Blogger http://quicksolvocom.blogspot.com/2020/06/how-to-speed-up-your-mac.html

#AvgAntivirusRenewal #Avg Antivirus Subscription #avg.com/retail #avgloginmyaccount #InstallAvgWithL

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mybreadlover · 4 years

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How to Speed Up Your Mac

Why your Mac is running slow

Why is my Mac running slow? It could be due to:

Insufficient RAM: If your computer doesn’t have enough short-term memory (RAM), it will struggle to complete everyday tasks like running programs and browsing the internet.

Visual effects: macOS contains a lot of visual effects that can be taxing on older Mac computers, draining your battery and slowing you down.

Slow internet connection: If your browsing and video streaming are too slow or stuttering, the problem might not be your Mac at all — it may be caused by a slow internet connection.

» Check your internet speed

Before we dive into our top ten ways to speed up macOS, let’s check your internet speed. Go to www.speedtest.net and run their test — it only takes a few seconds!

Once you’ve determined that your internet service isn’t the issue, then it’s time to jump into our tips to speed up macOS.

1. Install any updates

Here’s how to update your Mac:

To check if you need to update, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your desktop.

Click on System Preferences… to see if there’s a macOS update. If there is, click Update.

Make sure to check the box to keep your system updated automatically.

Your computer will take some time to update your system, and will then need to restart.

If you have outdated apps, you should update those as well. Click the Apple again, and select App Store… if you see that there are updates available.

The App Store will then display all the apps you own that have possible updates, including the reason they should be updated — such as “bug fixes” or “stability and performance improvements.”

Click on the individual app you want to update and follow the instructions. If you see apps you don’t actually use here, skip to the next section to get rid of them.

2. Uninstall unused apps

Open Finder and select Applications.

Find the little grid icon and select Date Last Opened.

Scroll down to the bottom to find apps you haven’t used in a long time. Select the app you want to delete.

Drag the app to your Trash to uninstall it, and then make sure to empty the Trash.

Not sure which apps will give you the most bang for your buck, space-wise? Let’s find out which programs take up the most space and power on your system.

» Find and disable the most power-hungry processes

Let’s dig a little deeper and see what’s really dragging your Mac down.

Open Finder, click Go and then select Utilities.

Select Activity Monitor, which will show you a variety of information about your system and device performance.

Click the tab for CPU at the top. Your central processing unit is what computes everything you do. If it gets bogged down by a resource-hungry process, it’ll slow everything else down.

Click the arrow on % CPU to sort by the highest percentage.

Look for anything that consumes 5–10% of CPU usage.

Here YouTube is consuming 4.4% of CPU power, which is a lot. You can easily get those resources back by closing YouTube. If the app tries to resist, click Force Quit.

If you see any processes on this list that you aren’t familiar with, it’s best to Google them before deleting — make sure it’s nothing important before you give it the boot.

Check out the other tabs in the Activity Monitor: Memory, Energy (aka battery life), Disk, and Network to see what apps or processes are taking up other valuable resources.

Check Energy to see which of your apps are taking up the most of your power. Sort by 12 hr Power to see which apps have used the most power in the last half a day.

If you see anything that’s taking up a lot of power, avoid using it when you want faster speeds for other priorities on your Mac.

If you check regularly and find out that a single app is taking up way too much power, uninstall it using the steps above.

» Remove malicious software

Download AVG AntiVirus FREE for Mac

3. Remove unwanted files

Files can also take up a lot of space and memory, and a cluttered Mac can experience unresponsive apps and reduced disk space. What kind of files might be taking up space on your Mac?

Movies and TV shows you’ve already watched.

Blurry and duplicate photos: Do you tend to take five shots of everything, trying to get the perfect angle? You probably don’t need all of these hanging around.

Files in Trash: The files still exist until you actually empty out the Trash.

All of these can really add up and bog you down. That’s why removing unnecessary files can fix a slow-running Mac. Let’s start with tracking down your largest files and documents.

Open up Finder and hit Command + F to open up a search window.

Click on the Kind menu and select Other.

Scroll down through the options and find File Size; check the blue box on the right.

You can now see the biggest items on your system, including apps and large files.

Now you can go through every item one by one and move everything you no longer want or need into the trash.

Make sure to empty the Trash so the files actually get removed.

Download AVG TuneUp for Mac by clicking the button above.

Complete the installation process.

On the main dashboard, under Clean Clutter, click SCAN.

AVG TuneUp will show you just how much-hidden clutter is lurking in your system.

Hit CLEAN to get rid of these unnecessary application caches, log files, and trash!

Once the scan finishes, review the list of duplicates and remove whatever you no longer need.

Back on the main dashboard again, click FIND under Find photos that are bad or similar. Select all the locations where you have photos stored.

Select all the photos you no longer want and click REMOVE.

Now that you have AVG TuneUp, you can choose your settings for automatic maintenance so your Mac stays fresh, clean, and speedy!

» Clean up your desktop

Go to your crowded desktop. Right-click (or click with two fingers) and select New Folder.

Name your new folder anything you want, such as Files from Desktop.

Hit COMMAND + A to select everything.

Hold down COMMAND and click on the new folder to deselect it.

Drag all of your highlighted files into the new folder.

Drag the folder into your Documents folder in the sidebar.

Enjoy your clean new desktop!

» Move your photos to iCloud and adjust other storage settings

Click the Apple icon and select About this Mac.

Click the Storage tab, and then select Manage…

Here you’ll see a few options of how to increase space on your Mac.

Click Store in iCloud… and then you’ll choose exactly what you want to store.

Optimize storage settings

Back on the previous screen, you also have options to optimize file storage.

Optimize Storage: Hit Optimize… This will save space by getting rid of TV shows and movies that you’ve already watched on Apple TV and iTunes. (You can download them again later if you want.)

4. Empty caches

Let’s clear out your browser cache in Safari first.

Click on Safari and then hit Preferences.

Click Advanced and then tick the box for Show Develop menu in the menu bar.

Develop will now be an option on the Safari menu bar; click it and select Empty Caches.

Click it and you’re good to go!

Open up Finder and hit Go, then Go to Folder...

A window will pop up. Type in /Users/[your username]/Library/Caches and hit Go.

You’ll now see all the user or application caches saved on your system. You can drag anything you don’t need to the Trash and then empty it.

Again, be careful not to delete anything you might need.

To clear out the system cache, navigate again to Finder > Go> Go to folder… and then type in ~/Library/Caches/.

You’ll see your system cache and can delete what you wish by dragging it to the Trash and then emptying the trash.

5. Cut down on startup programs

Click the Apple icon in the top left and then open System Preferences.

Choose Users & Groups.

Select Login Items. Here you can see all the programs that start automatically and disable the ones you don’t need.

Click the lock and enter your password to make changes.

To find even more hidden startup items, click finder and then Go.

With the Go menu open, hold down the OPTION key on your keyboard. This will make a new option, Library, appear in the list — click it.

Scroll down the list of folders and select LaunchAgents. Here you’ll see apps and processes that are set to launch automatically upon startup.

If you see anything you don’t need, delete it! (If you’re not sure what something is, Google it before you get rid of it.)

6. Turn off visual effects

Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences. Then click on Accessibility.

Once you’re in Accessibility, click on the Display tab. Check the box for Reduce motion.

Done! This will especially make a difference in speed for older Macs.

7. Rebuild your Spotlight index

Click the Apple icon, select System Preferences, and click on Spotlight.

On the Spotlight screen, click Privacy.

Hit the + sign and select a folder or disk that needs to be indexed again into the white box.

Once it’s there, click on the folder and then click the — sign at the bottom. That’s it!

8. Try an SSD

9. Upgrade your RAM memory

If you have less than 4 GB of RAM and you’re a normal computer user (web browsing, email, Office or Google applications, etc.) you should upgrade to at least 4 GB.

If you do a lot of multitasking, video and photo editing, or light gaming, you’ll want to upgrade to at least 8 GB of RAM.

If you’re a heavy gamer, a programmer, or a video editor by profession, we’d recommend 16+ GB of RAM.

Unlike PCs, Macs aren’t as personally configurable, but upgrading RAM is usually possible. See Apple’s support pages for their official guidance on upgrading MacBooks, Mac Pro, or iMac.

10. Reset SMC and PRAM

Resetting your SMC varies a bit depending on what type of Mac you have:

For Macs with a non-removable battery: Turn off your MacBook. Hold down SHIFT + CONTROL + OPTION and the power button and hold for ten seconds. Then reboot your Mac normally.

For Mac Minis, Mac Pros, and iMacs: Shut your Mac down and unplug it. Wait 20 seconds, and then plug it in and restart. That’s it!

Resetting your PRAM is the same on all Macs. Here’s how to do it: Shut down your Mac. Hold down COMMAND + OPTION + P until your Mac restarts. Then you’re done!

Boost your Mac’s performance the easy way

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jaigames · 7 years

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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Review

(Submitted 17th October 2017)

Metal Gear Solid V, Hideo Kojima’s final game for the long time crashing video game company Konami. What could have been the greatest Metal Gear Solid game ever made, a shining finale to one of the longest running video game series starting in 1987 with Metal Gear. Unfortunately, what would have been a masterpiece was let down by poor management, greedy CEOs and a desperate attempt to make sequels.

Metal Gear Solid V is a third person stealth game where you play as the legendary mercenary, Big Boss (also known as Venom Snake). The game begins with him waking up in a Cypriot hospital nine years after the destruction of his mother base, he is told that there are many people out to kill him so they must give him plastic surgery to hide his identity. Before that however the hospital is attacked by armed soldiers, having escaped he is greeted by Revolver Ocelot who informs Big Boss of who he is and what happened nine years ago. From here the game consists of rebuilding his base, tracking down those who betrayed him and putting a stop to their world domination.

Like other Metal Gear games, the story delves into the subject of private forces and their impact upon larger political powers using experimental weaponry or unorthodox tactics, one of which is as always, a staple of the Metal Gear franchise being a Metal Gear (a bipedal armoured vehicle). The story uses the implications of touchy subjects being torture, arms race, nuclear arms race, arms intimidation, bio warfare and child soldiers and wraps them into one coherent storyline. These subjects serve as the middle man in the timeline fixing the two stories of MGS3 and MGS1 together, or at least it would have had the game been finished.

Main Gameplay

The main objective of the game, like most other Metal Gear Solid games, is to sneak through levels and complete specific objectives.

There are two kinds of missions to do in three different areas, those being the main story missions and the side missions. The three areas are Afghanistan, Africa and Mother Base, all of which are large open world areas, Afghanistan and Africa having multiple large points of interest which the main story will take you to. Side missions are much smaller missions consisting of one objective being eliminate a threat, capture a target or steal resources.

With each time Big Boss is deployed in the world the player is given a loadout menu to choose what items and companions they wish to take with them. The edition of this is great because it allows the player options to complete the missions in whatever style they would most enjoy. This is what I think the game excels at, given the large open spaces around the mission areas the player can observe their path before taking it. This along with the large number of weapons and items that can be unlocked, there are plenty of options to take.

In most other stealth games, getting spotted by an enemy is the end of your stealth approach meaning it would be time to load a previous save if you want that perfect stealth achievement when you finish the game. For Metal Gear Solid V there is no achievement, plus upon being seen of course the iconic alert sound will play, but it will trigger a bullet time giving the player time to react by tranquilising or killing the enemy.

A mechanic unique to this Metal Gear Solid game that compliments the quirky nature of the series is the fulton recovery system, by interacting with either soldiers, wild animals, vehicles, containers or mounted weapons the player can extract items from the ground to build up their base or to be deployed on missions later. This adds an extra element to consider when planning assault on strongholds, scanning soldiers and judging their stats to determine whether they are wanted for mother base.

Due to Big Boss being a living legend amongst mercenaries, soldiers from other private forces will jump at the chance to join his ranks. No mini game required, just extract a soldier from the battlefield using the fulton and the soldier is automatically added to the list of soldiers at mother base. These soldier’s combined level in different fields have the effect of making their respective team level raise giving perks to the player. The biggest being the research and development team allowing the player to purchase new weapons and items to use on the battlefield. At times collecting the best soldiers does get tedious, but not enough that it completely disrupts the flow of the game.

Cutscenes

The Metal Gear series is known for having very long and cinematic cutscenes that set them apart from other games. Although in Metal Gear Solid 5 the cutscenes in no way reach the length of previous games in the series, but they are nothing less than stunning every time. Every shot is framed well and every character moves fluently. With each introduction of a piece of high tech gear, the game will give a dynamic view of the focus point along with a digital glint on screen giving the viewer a moment to take in the details and marvel at the design.

The cutscenes were far less interactive in this game too, previously you’d be able to interact with the surroundings while the extended cutscenes played out. While it does seem like a piece of the Metal Gear heritage was taken out, it did encourage to pay attention to the subject at hand which of course was more than enough to keep me interested. Instead of the long drawn out explanations in cutscenes, they are instead moved to the cassette tapes that came be listened to in game. Personally, I much preferred this much more as the time it took to drive between side missions was easily filled in listening to story that Big Boss wasn’t present to hearing.

Issues

Being a recent Konami game, the game has plenty of issues, some of these points are quite minor while others have had serious repercussions with the game.

Of course, the recent plague with AAA games has been the introduction of microtransactions into full price releases and Metal Gear Solid V is no exception to this. The base building mechanic has an online feature to attack and be attacked from other private forces, those being other players. In theory, this seems like it would be a great idea as a side mini game, but building up your base takes time and resources. Resources you can send out your soldiers on missions to collect, but these missions can take up to two real time weeks, but microtransactions are there to finish the missions instantly. These arbitrary wait times serve no other purpose than to encourage the player to give out more money. By participating in this mode, you are consenting to take part in the online base defence feature, where the player can attack other player’s bases and while simultaneously protecting their own. Unless the player’s base has maxed out statistics, they won’t stand a chance online. This is where base insurance comes in, players can purchase it with real money to insure they keep their resources after being attacked.

This online feature has little to no effect on the main game, the resources gained are tiny in comparison to the resources gained by playing the main game. Building up the base to the maximum size can raise the level of the teams of soldiers, but these can still all be done simply in the main game. All that this feature really amounts to is climbing up a leaderboard that unless those payments are made, there is no hope of ever reaching the top, it is just a leaderboard of who spent the most money. Another issue with this online feature is that the servers are very slow, this is obvious when trying to navigate the menus in game, especially for the research and development menu. When navigating the menus time does not stop and the player cannot exit while a menu is loading, this can take anywhere between 5 to 60 seconds. Personally, this has caused me to die multiple times when trying to request a supply drop in the heat of battle. This has been made worst by the PC port of the game not allowing the player to interact with the menu via mouse and instead must use the keyboard, while this isn’t too significant, it is worth mentioning that it does take some getting used to.

One of the more daunting issues have been the limitations placed on the game due to Konami pushing for console accessibility. While in theory this sounds good that the game could be played on the PS3 and Xbox 360, this also meant that the game was heavily dumbed down. This meant that significantly less polygons could be rendered on screen at any given time meaning a lot of these big open areas became empty and baron except for a couple patrol vehicles and enemy checkpoints dotted around. This was most apparent in missions that took you to vast important enemy strongholds such as military storages, airports or prisons; these places could only render up to 10 soldiers on screen at once. They lacked the feeling of being these grand high security landmarks that would only be looked at and avoided on the map for fear of alerting huge armies of soldiers that didn’t exist.

The largest flaw of Metal Gear Solid V anyone can tell you is the ending, or lack thereof one. Instead of this game being the final chapter of a legendary game series, one that has evolved alongside modern gaming, it was poorly let down by Konami. After completely two thirds of the game and beating the only thing that really qualified as a boss fight, it felt as though the game was ready to start tying up all the side plots and the main storyline. However, this for me is where the game started to stagnate, a lot of the main missions began to become filler in the form of challenge modes of previous missions with the occasional new piece of story thrown in. The ending of the game is completely missing, what could have been a grand finale that would pit the army that the player had built against Big Boss’s final enemy. All of this was cut from the game by Konami to make another sequel from what would of be a great ending. Fortunately, there are videos online of the unfinished cutscenes and storyboards, that were taken from the ending. These can give a somewhat satisfying conclusion to the series, but it remains a let-down of what could have been.

Conclusion

In conclusion Metal Gear Solid V is in no way the worst of the series, but it is a shame that it had the potential to have been the best. From what it lacked in holding the heritage of the game, it made up for with improvements. It, started to feel like it was its own game separating itself far from the usual Metal Gear Solid formula for keeping the main core focus of the gameplay and story purpose. My advice for anyone looking to play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain would be, enjoy the game from the first two thirds, but prepared to be let down by the last third. I could rate this game a solid 10/10 were it finished, but due to its many flaws I rate it 7/10.

#Metal Gear Solid V #The Phantom Pain #Review

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madmyrtle86 · 6 years

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An Essay on Lootboxes

When mobile games came on the scene they quickly realized that they could not price there games the same as consoles or PCs. No one wanted to pay $30 for a game they were playing on their cell phone. So mobile games lowered their prices (usually $0.99 - $6.99[a]) or became free to play. But they had a new strategy to make money called micro transactions. Micro transactions are using real money to buy an in game item such as more health, a weapon, or even hints in a puzzle game. They are most often sold as packs of in game currency (often referred to as premium currency) and can range in price from $0.99 to $99.99[b].

Mobile games began to pulling in large amounts of revenue a year from micro transaction. For example in 2013 the mobile game Candy Crush made a whopping $1.54 billion in sales revenue[1]. Console and PC game companies took note of this and began rolling out micro transactions of their own. While this came as paid DLC (downloadable extra content), and cosmetics (like the hats you can buy in Team Fortress 2), the most controversial of these has been loot boxes.

A loot box is essentially a box that may contain the item you want. The player pays real world money at a chance of getting the in game item they want. A lot of people equate this to gambling. I for one agree with this. But while gambling is spending money on a game of chance in the hopes of winning more money, loot boxes are about spending real money for a chance to win a digital in game item.

Personally, I am okay with micro transactions. I feel like if I have put in over 100 hours playing Medic in Team Fortress 2 and I spent $25 on hats that’s not bad. I’ve paid less than the cost of a new game, but still supported the game and got a lot of enjoyment for my money. But on the issue of loot boxes, I think they are just the worst. They are designed to get the player to spend a lot of money.

To give an example of this, I’ll talk about a mobile game that I play called Shop Heroes by Cloudcade. In the game you need blue prints to make the best armor & weapons for your heroes. The best blue prints are in chest (the games version of loot boxes) and each chest has a chance of giving you a blue print. The best chest in the game is called the Primal Chest and there are two ways to open them. The first is using a key (that you can buy from other players or win in the PvP [player versus player] arena), but the key only gives you a 15% chance of getting a blue print. You can also use 750 gems (the games premium currency) to open the chest and it gives you a 25% chance. So the game gives you better odds if you spend gems. But to get enough gems you have to buy the $9.99 pack of 1,150 gems or spend weeks/months grinding for them. Again, this is just for the chance of getting a blue print and even if you manage to get a blue print, it may not even be the one you want.

People began to look at this set up for loot boxes and started drawing the conclusion that it was design to not only exploit addictive personality traits, but create addiction in gamers. Heather Alexandra wrote an article for Kotaku that compares loot boxes to the reward behavioral experiments that B.F. Skinner performed on rats[2]. The game developers are intentionally making the loot boxes desirable as explained in this quote from an Overwatch developer:

“When you start opening a loot box, we want to build anticipation,” an Overwatch developer said. “We do this in a lot of ways—animations, camera work, spinning plates, and sounds. We even build a little anticipation with the glow that emits from a loot box’s cracks before you open it.”[3]

The ethical concerns about the addiction of loot boxes are a real hot button issue among players, parents, and even some lawmakers. Personally, I struggle with addictive personality issues as part of my impulse control issue due to my Bipolar Disorder. When I go to a Casino, I leave my debit and credit cards at home, bring a set amount of money with me to spend, and only go with a trusted friend(s) or family member(s). To hinder myself with micro transaction, I first try to avoid buying them as much as possible. I have also set monthly entertainment budget. But my best deterrent is that I have set it so I have to enter a password anytime I want to buy an in game item. This gives me a moment to consider my actions before I spend my money and have buyer’s remorse. This all sounds like a bit much, but I had friend who could not pay her bills one month as she had spent over $1,000 on loot boxes in Overwatch.

The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) does not view loot boxes as gambling as outline in this statement:

“While there’s an element of chance in these mechanics, the player is always guaranteed to receive in-game content (even if the player unfortunately receives something they don’t want). We think of it as a similar principle to collectible card games: Sometimes you’ll open a pack and get a brand new holographic card you’ve had your eye on for a while. But other times you’ll end up with a pack of cards you already have.”[4]

While UK Gambling Commission and the New Zealand Gambling Regulators share the same sentiment as the ESRB.[5] Other governments don’t and have begun investigating loot boxes. Just this year Belgium’s Gaming Commission ruled that some loot boxes violated the country’s gambling regulations. The investigation was brought on in November of 2017 by Minister of Justice Koen Geens, after hearing complaints about Star Wars Battlefront II’s loot boxes.[6] The Commission looked at four popular games: Overwatch, Star Wars Battlefront II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and FIFA 18.[7]

And in April of this year they can to their ruling that the games were in violation. In a statement release by Minister of Justice Koen Geens:

“Minister of Justice Koen Geens therefore wishes to enter into a dialogue soon, both with the developers, operators and the Gaming Commission. Together we can see who should take responsibility where. "Mixing games and gambling, especially at a young age, is dangerous for mental health. We have already taken numerous measures to protect both minors and adults against the influence of, among other things, gambling advertising. That is why we must also ensure that children and adults are not confronted with games of chance when they are looking for fun in a video game."[8][c]

Developers such as Blizzard, Valve, and 2K Games have already disable loot boxes for the Belgium versions of their games.[9] The biggest name that has not complied with the ruling is EA, the makers of FIFA 18. Their randomized card packs that violated the gambling laws are still in the game and will be in FIFA 19 which releases at the end of September.[10] In May EA CEO Andrew Wilson released a statement saying that the company does not believe their Ultimate Team card packs or loot boxes in general are a form of gambling.[11]

Unfortunately for EA, the Belgium Gambling Commission does not agree. They have contacted the Public Prosecutor’s Office, who has opened a criminal investigation into EA.[12] There is a strong chance that this will go to court, unless EA backs down which at the moment seems unlikely. The whole world will be watching this case closely, especially if it goes to court. As loot boxes are still an item of contention even in countries that have said loot boxes are not gambling such as here in the United States. As loot boxes have become a staple of gaming and this could begin to set a legal precedent regarding them.

[a] These numbers came from me looking at the prices of popular titles on the Google Play Store.

[b] This came from looking at packs offered in several popular title games such as Candy Crush & by looking at the games on my phone as well.

[c] I translated the text using Google Translate from the source to verify that it matched what was quoted in other cited articles and opted to site the source instead.

References:

1 Brad Reed “Candy Crush Saga generated an insane 1.5 billion in revenue last year”. February 18, 2014. BGR. https://bgr.com/2014/02/18/how-much-money-does-candy-crush-make/

2, 3 Heather Alexandra “Loot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit Us”. October 13, 2017. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/loot-boxes-are-designed-to-exploit-us-1819457592

4 Jason Schreier “ESRB Says It Doesn’t See ‘Loot Boxes’ As Gambling”. October 11, 2017. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/esrb-says-it-doesnt-see-loot-boxes-as-gambling-1819363091

5 Shabana Arif “Belgium Joins The Netherlands In Ruling That Declares Some Loot Boxes Illegal”. April 25, 2018. IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/04/25/belgium-joins-the-netherlands-in-ruling-that-declares-some-loot-boxes-illegal

6, 7 Andy Chalk “Belgium’s Gambling Commission rules against loot boxes in Overwatch, FIFA 18, and CS:GO”. April 25, 2018. PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/belgiums-gambling-commission-rules-against-loot-boxes-in-overwatch-fifa-18-and-csgo/

8 Minister of Justice Koen Geens. April 25, 2018 https://www.koengeens.be/news/2018/04/25/loot-boxen-in-drie-videogames-in-strijd-met-kansspelwetgeving

9, 10, 11, 12 Rob Thubron “EA faces criminal investigation in Belgium because it won’t remove loot boxes from FIFA”. September 11, 2018. TECHSPOT. https://www.techspot.com/news/76374-ea-faces-criminal-investigation-belgium-because-wont-remove.html

#lootbox #ea games #gaming news

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bronasourus · 7 years

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Answer all of them

Momma didn’t raise a bitch so here you go @jdongle

1. Favourite colour. Orange  2. Number of people you’ve slept with.I don’t count the ones I have done but 2  3. Cake or ice cream? Ice cream  4. If you were a superhero what would your power be? The power to have the exact amount of money in my pocket for any purchase  5. Ever been in a fist fight? Yes and I won c: 6. Do you live in the country or the city? Sin city 7. Biggest kink? Just talk to me really  8. Favourite video-game? Street fighter  9. Words you live by? Just go with the flow 10. Best book you’ve ever read? Hunger games because those are the only books I read fully. Probably game of thrones if I finished them  11. Favourite film? Either zombie land or Shawn of the dead  12. Horror or romance? Horror  13. Biggest fear? Oceans  14. Best memory? My best bud and me hanging out  15. Worst memory? My relationships  16. Where are you from? Vegas  17. Ever done anal? Haha no  18. Would you prefer to be Mary Berry’s grandchild or Paul Hollywood’s bitch? Idk 19. Favourite outfit? My sweat shorts and a tank top  20. Snapchat or Instagram? Snap  21. If you could freeze time what would you do? Cut all the lines at Disney world  22. Best LUSH product in your opinion?Uh the handsoap? 23. Should people wear red shirts or brown pants in your presence? You do you boo  24. Favourite television character? Gon from HunterxHunter  25. Do you have a nemesis? Nope everyone likes me I think  26. Are you a hard-worker? Absolutely  27. What’s the best holiday you’ve ever been on? July 4th where I just watched all the awesome fireworks  28. What’s your dream? To live happily  29. Where do you see your life ending up? In the ground  30. Describe your last sexual encounter. No 31. Cake by the ocean or sex on the beach? Cake 32. Ever done drugs? Yes 33. Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings? Neither  34. Are you a jock or a nerd? I’m a Jers 35. On a scale of 8 to 34.7, how gay are you? 17.89  36. Do you live for Tumblr discourse or hate it? Neither  37. Favourite trashy television show? Bobs burgers  38. Last time you watched porn? Like three days ago  39. Do you have a recurring sexual fantasy? Yes… 40. Weirdest dream you ever had? My family ate corn and turned into dinosaurs  41. Ever had mental health issues? Yes 42. What’s the answer to the question you wish someone would ask you? You’re just right for me  43. Do you wish people paid more attention to you? Nope I like being unnoticed usually unless I’m talking to you  44. Do you have anyone who you’d happily slap right across their chops? Nope I love everyone pretty much  45. Dog person or cat person? Both  46. Sneakers or heels? Sandals  47. Favourite cocktail? Don’t drink  48. Day or night? Day 49. Pokémon or Digimon? Pokémon  50. How big is your dick? Don’t worry about it  51. Favourite musical? Cats?  52. Favourite song? Living single by big Sean  53. Are you secretly a goblin/alien/android? A bisexual  54. Why are you like this? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 55. What’s your guilty pleasure? A thousand miles  56. What would you say if I said ‘I love you’? 🙈🙈🙈 57. What’s the story behind your URL? It’s just a URL  58. Tell me something that worries you. Too much haha  59. What have you been worrying about today? A wedding  60. I’m only sending you these questions because I have a crush on you and I’m too tragic to actually just say it. Oh my 🙈🙈 61. Hot dogs or burgers? The desert table  62. Nintendo or the other trash-consoles? I play PS4 the most 😓 63. Which fandom ruined a show that you used to like? Naruto 64. What do you wish you could tell your best friend? I love him and her lots (have two best buds)  65. Tell us a deep dark secret. I am scared everyday of my life  66. Are you curious about having a man in leather spank your botty ‘til it’s all red? If it’s the right person maybe >_>  67. Favourite Tumblr couple? Idk 68. Do you have any dietary quirks? No 69. Do you want to have someone pleasure your genitals orally while you do the same to theirs? Maybe 70. How old are you? 20 almost 21 71. Which Buzzfeed listicle sums up your existence? How much of a sim character are you  72. Do you have any pets? Yeah her name is marina and she’s my chatty cat :)  73. What colour underwear are you wearing? Light blue  74. Boxers or briefs? Trunks  75. Fuck me, Ray Bradbury? No? 76. Which television show do you want to last forever? Parks and recreation 77. In a zombie apocalypse how long would you last? Probably be the first infected one  78. Do you have good internet connection or do you want to punch your router every ten minutes? Sometimes both  79. Would you find it somewhat saucy if I sent bawdy nudes in your direction? YES 80. Which country has the best flag? RUSSIA  81. Do you consider yourself *iconic*? Nope  82. Most overrated food? Deep fried twinkies  83. Most overrated film? La la land  84. Most overrated television show? 13 reasons why ( I haven’t watched it though)  85. Most overrated type of cheese? Guda 86. Which brand would you never shop at? Anything in hot topic  87. Wisdom, courage, or power? Courage  88. Would you prefer to travel in time and stay in the same spot, or travel in space with time elapsing as normal? Time  89. What’s the best birthday present you ever got? A pineapple  90. What present do you wish someone would give you? Another pineapple  91. Do you have an ex? Why did you break up? Don’t worry about it c:  91. Why does 91 appear on this list twice now? Idk haha 92. Spare a thought for the humble creator of this list, it’s difficult to think of this many questions. It’s okay ☺️😘 93. Do you prefer anons or non-anons? Either is fine  94. Who do you wish you could have sex with more than any other? Answer n/a 95. What is your spirit animal? An otter  96. Do you have one word that you really love the sound of? Sickle  97. Do you still have any of your stuffed toys from when you were a kid? No :( 98. What makes you super nostalgic? Working out  99. Give me an answer to a random one of these questions. (But don’t make it a shit answer like ‘yes’. Don’t be an asshole.) I’m answering them all so yes 100. What’s your favourite cocktail? Don’t drink  101. Sonic screwdriver or Ron’s shit broken wand from the second Potter book? ??? 102. Laptop or PC? Pc 103. What’s the sexiest accent in your opinion? Whom ever I find attractive  104. Would you let Donald Trump tickle your nipples for an hour for £6,000,000? Absolutely not 105. You should check out a great little British website called Pretty52. No haha 106. If you could dye your hair any colour, what colour would you change to? I don’t like hair dye but probably dark purple  107. What would you change about your body if you could? Everything  108. Do you prefer to be hot or cold? Cold 109. What’s your favourite way to orgasm? When I actually orgasm  110. Are you a mermaid or a unicorn? Unicorn 111. What’s the name of your favourite pet when you were a kid? Bosly  112. What was your favourite class at school? Math 113. Are you superstitious? No 114. What do you think happens when we die? You die 115. Pie or pi? Pi 116. Your followers a question. How are you guys 117. Lick my genitalia. Yes 118. What’s your favourite number? 7 119. Do you ever look up at the stars and feel small? Yes 120. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Meh 121. Tell me about a quirky personality trait. I am a fluff ball 122. What was your favourite story when you were younger? Anything with zombies 123. Are you old before your time or young at heart? Young 124. Why do you do the things you do? Please. Tell me. Idk so I can die most likely  125. I hope you enjoyed these questions.  I did 126. Which Tumblr blog would you recommend to all your fans? @jdongle because he told me to do this. He’s amazing

#get to know me

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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15 Hardest N64 Games of All-Time

https://ift.tt/3vP67uN

It may not be the first console you think of when you hear the term “Nintendo Hard,” but the N64 is the quiet home of some of the hardest games in the impressive history of Nintendo consoles.

While hardly the “last great console” so far as hard games go, the N64 is one of the last consoles that consistently featured the kind of games that were so hard that you honestly wondered if they were broken. Well, some of them were actually broken (you know which one we’re going to talk about), but in most cases, they really were just that difficult.

Thanks largely to the contributions of developer Rare, these are the hardest N64 games ever made .

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15. StarCraft 64

The N64 port of StarCraft isn’t going to make you forget the PC version of the game, but it’s honestly not that bad considering that there’s no way this game should have been even remotely playable on the N64 controller

That said, the N64’s controls really highlight how tough StarCraft could be. It’s an old-school RTS that demands rapid reaction times and the kind of micromanagement that many other games just don’t prepare you for.

14. Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine

This somewhat underrated early 3D Indiana Jones game is also one of the N64’s most surprisingly difficult experiences.

This game’s puzzles and labyrinthian level design are arguably enough to earn it a spot on this list, but what really puts this game over-the-top is the action. Somewhat imprecise controls and absurdly powerful late-game enemies join forces to bring your blood to a boil. You should also forget about trying to 100% this game unless you’re a glutton for punishment.

13. Conker’s Bad Fur Day

If you’ve only ever played the Xbox remake of this famously mature (or, more accurately, immature) 3D platformer, you may be shocked to learn that the original Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a shockingly tough game to beat.

“Beat” really is the word to keep in mind here, as Conker’s final levels force you to navigate a series of challenges that destroy the difficulty curve so thoroughly that you’ll start to wonder if something has gone wrong. The underwater maze section alone is enough to make even a patient gamer put a controller sized hole through their TV.

12. Perfect Dark

GoldenEye’s harder difficulty levels and hidden challenges were tough, but Perfect Dark was a downright cruel FPS experience that sometimes doesn’t get enough love from fans of hard games.

Playing Perfect Dark on Perfect Agent difficulty is the kind of difficult gaming experience that’s so absurd that it’s honestly hard to be angry at it. Nearly everything can kill you instantly, and the game’s already confusing level design is made that much worse by the presence of additional objectives more demanding than any of the game’s main objectives.

11. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

Turok 2 may not immediately spring to mind when you think about the hardest FPS games of a golden era of hard FPS games, but make no mistake that this somewhat underrated N64 title belongs in that elite class.

This sequel’s absurdly difficult boss fights are enough to make most sane gamers call it quits, but what makes this game legendary among challenge seekers are its incredible long and surprisingly complicated levels. It’s that combination of not knowing where you’re going and constantly dying while trying to figure it out that makes this one so special.

10. Mischief Makers

While it didn’t get a lot of love when it was released in 1997, Mischief Makers has gone on to become a true cult classic among those who appreciate its bizarre style and the kind of fast-paced gameplay developer Treasure is known for.

Of course, by “fast-paced gameplay developer Treasure was known for,” I really mean “incredibly difficult gameplay.” Mischief Makers isn’t Treasure’s hardest game, but its combination of tough 2D action and sometimes confusing platforming/puzzle segments means that it keeps you on your toes in a way that other games simply do not.

9. Body Harvest

While I’m actually in the camp that thinks Body Harvest is another worthwhile, largely overlooked N64 gem, the only thing tougher than recommending this bizarre title is the difficulty of the game itself.

Body Harvest’s confusing mechanics (which the game honestly does a poor job of explaining) are bad enough, but the real issue here is the relative lack of save points. You could spend hours figuring out what you’re supposed to be doing, fall into a hole you didn’t know was there, and lose all your progress. Body Harvest may boast the most intimidating learning curve in N64 history.

8. Doom 64

Much like StarCraft 64, some of Doom 64’s difficulty can obviously be “blamed” on the challenges of playing what is essentially a PC title on the N64 controller. However, Doom 64 surprisingly manages to retain much of its difficulty even when you play it on a mouse and keyboard or modern console controller.

Blame some of that on the title’s surprisingly challenging puzzles and secrets, but what really separates Doom 64 from other Doom games is the power level of the average enemy. They’re tougher to kill, they hit harder, and the game makes up for featuring fewer of them by ensuring that the ones it does throw at you are more than prepared to end you by themselves.

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7. Superman 64

What do we do about Superman 64? Like some of the other difficult games we’ve talked about in the past, there’s no denying that many of Superman 64’s technical problems are the biggest contributors to its difficulty. Superman 64 is simply broken, which obviously makes it quite challenging.

With all of that out of the way, let me just say that this could be the most frustrating game ever “designed” by a team of “professionals.” Superman 64 is like the home for bad gameplay ideas. Time limits, confusing objectives, rebellious controls…even if you summon the urge to beat this game, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever do so.

6. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is arguably best remembered for its Hoth level that essentially recreated Empire Strikes Back’s opening battle with stunning accuracy, but it should perhaps instead be remembered as one of the toughest Star Wars games ever made.

If you ever wanted to be reminded just how hard the early days of 3D platforming were (especially platforming sections in an action game) Shadows of the Empire is the jalopy that will take you down memory lane. The only thing that beats falling off a cliff for the hundredth time is realizing it’s the end of the game and you still don’t know how to properly use the jetpack.

5. Blast Corps

I love Blast Corps, and I’m thrilled that it seems like more people got a chance to play this truly original demolition game when it was re-released as part of the Rare Replay collection. I also kind of hate Blast Corps and wouldn’t wish parts of this game on my worst enemies.

The core Blast Corps gameplay is tough enough due to the strange way it combines elements of action titles and particularly challenging puzzle games, but oh man, the late game medal challenges may just be some of the toughest objectives in video game history. The story goes that the game’s QA teams challenged each other to ensure that these objectives were only technically possible to beat. Blast Corps designer Martin Wakeley previously described them as “insane” and said that he has only ever beaten a few of them himself.

4. Donkey Kong 64

We continue our journey through the “Rare” portion of the program by looking at one of the last 3D platformers of a kind of golden era for 3D platformers. Of course, Donkey Kong 64’s difficulty is arguably part of the reason that style of gameplay design went on a bit of a popularity hiatus following this title’s release.

As we’ve previously discussed, trying to complete Donkey Kong 64 means accepting a journey into the mouth madness. Donkey Kong 64 took the idea of a “collect-a-thon” platformer to an entirely different level with its absurd backtracking requirements and a list of requirements so long you couldn’t fit them onto a CVS receipt.

3. F-Zero X

You know, it’s not often we get to talk about a racing game when we’re talking about the hardest games ever made, but it’s also rare that racing game demands as much from its players as F-Zero X does.

Yes, F-Zero X was fast, but what made it so truly difficult was the fact that you could be knocked off the track at pretty much any time by even the slightest error or bump. If you want to beat this game’s toughest races, you essentially need to become an F-Zero X playing machine that is able to complete almost literally perfect runs.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

The sometimes divisive Majora’s Mask tends to split gamers over the use of its “time loop” mechanics which sometimes put a soft timer on the game. Some loved the idea, while others feel it interrupted the classic Zelda adventure they were looking for.

One thing that most people seem to agree on, though, is that this game’s time loop mechanics make some already difficult puzzles and dungeons that much more complicated. This would still be a fairly difficult traditional Zelda game, but constantly needing to consider a ticking clock while also trying to overcome some substantial obstacles proves to be too much for many players.

1. Jet Force Gemini

The debate over which game is the hardest in a console’s library is almost always a vicious one, but in the case of the N64, the overwhelmingly popular consensus is that Jet Force Gemini is more than worthy of this honor.

This game’s pacing and requirements almost make Donkey Kong 64 look tame. The amount of backtracking required to do pretty much anything in Jet Force Gemini is enough to make you glad that mechanic isn’t nearly as prevalent as it once was, and the fact that you have to complete so much content that would be optional in other games simply to progress is reason enough alone to simply give up. Jet Force Gemini is designed to wear you down, and it accomplishes that goal better than most other games ever made.

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